Star Wars: Successor
by Borrum
Summary: Twenty-two years after the Battle of Endor that ended the Galactic Empire, the New Republic holds control of the galaxy. In one of the last of those successor states of the Empire, follow a group of orphans as they struggle to survive and get away from their oppressors, both old and new. Inspiration taken from Rebels TV Show, with intent to make a more mature version.
1. Ep 1: Beginning Part One

**Quick Author's Note**

 **What is this you might be asking? Well, I'm not very sure myself. I got some inspiration from the _Rebels_ TV Show, with the intention it would: follow the concept of new, original characters in an unexplored time space; it would be serialized; and it would be more adult-themed like Clone Wars. I'll be honest the result so far hasn't really been a serialized piece since I found it difficult to condense whole stories into a chapter, but I think you'll be able to put together the story just as fine anyways.**

 **I was going to release this after The Last Jedi so I would have a further understanding of the First Order, but Dave Filoni's announcement that _Rebels_ was ending, and the speculation the next animated show would be based in between _Return of the Jedi_ and _The Force Awakens-_ which is when this story takes place- has made me decide to start it now so it doesn't look like I'm either stealing potential plotlines or riding the hype train. That's all, hope you enjoy!**

 **XXX**

 **Opening Crawl**

Twenty-two years ago, the Battle of Endor saw the destruction of the Second Death Star, the Emperor, and his right-hand man Darth Vader. A year later, the Imperial Fleet was defeated at the Battle of Jakku. The New Republic replaced the Galactic Empire as the dominating force of the galaxy as the remnants of the Empire either bunkered down or fled into parts unknown. Overtime, an era of peace borne on the sacrifices of the Rebellion and it's heroes, came to be.

Now it's the present. The memories of the Galactic Civil War are a distant dream for some, and nonexistent for others. In the Core Systems, a generation has grown knowing only the free, if often corrupted, reign of the New Republic. But in the Outer Rim, there remains those loyal to the old ways of the Empire. Decaying but still living, the Argos Alignment survives as one of the last remaining fiefdoms of the Galactic Empire.

Inside it's territory, the planet Ommas remains isolated and ignored even by it's ruling Imperial government. But all that is about to change as new events begin to unfold on it's surface...

 **XXX**

 **Gallis Iscander**

Over the planet Ommas, the distant star they called the Sun gave a last look behind the towering gray mountain before finally dipping behind it. The light remained behind, reflecting off the hood of the police speeder Chief Folen sat in. For a while the officer watched it, and in turn Gallis Iscander watched him behind the corner of the Galactic Trader Market.

Not that he was watching the other for his reaction to the sunset, but rather to see when he would resume his patrols. When he did, that would be their time to move.

The revving of the speeder's engine started; Folen was beginning to make his rounds again. Gallis watched him leave with faint curiosity; what was it about sunsets that made the Chief stop her everyday?

"He gone?" Gallis turned; his brother Magnus had slunk over from the backdoor of the Market.

"Just leaving. Is everyone ready?"

Magnus shrugged. "I guess. Time to see if that lockpick Kennex got was worth anything."

Gallis frowned. "I don't think that friend of his would cheat him. If she said it would work, then it would. Besides, what would she have to gain from lying to us?"

"You and I both know the answer to that. Everyone in this blasted town knows."

The police speeder was long gone now, Chief Folen no doubt having gone to South Tip, where the town's marble mine was. It was a large place that had never attracted him, even though it was really the only place of work nowadays. No one owned it, people just went there to dig up marble to sell when the traders would come, and they would sell it for some credits to eventually try and get off the mountainous rock of a planet they were trapped on.

They had tried, Gallis and Magnus, really had to try and get off. They had saved their credits since when they had had been abandoned by their parents. They had sold scraps from some ship that had crashed on planet years ago, slowly building their worth.

And when they had had enough, the transport they had paid left without him. Robbed them, two orphans left to the merciless surface of Ommas.

Gallis smiled tightly as he followed Magnus to the others. Ironically, it was that traumatic event of what life was like outside of Ommas that had brought him here.

Their group leader, Kennex, waited calmly by the door. He was the oldest, a tall and skinny Firrerreo with unkempt coppery hair that flowed down to his shoulders. Gallis always found it strange how he looked human, but in fact was not. The way he talked was different as well; smooth, almost hypnotic behind needle-like teeth. People around the settlement liked to call him Kennex of the Stage, because his words were always so soothing, and it seemed he could talk himself out of anything. He also had strange pale skin and orange-flecked eyes, something Gallis had never seen on another human, but nevertheless something he had grown used to. He was also the only one of them not a child; he had told them his parents had been giddy-happy rebels who had consummated the victory at Endor by making love on Ommas, and then proceeding to abandoned him as a baby when the war, in fact, carried on.

"Folen's gone," Gallis reported, feeling adrenaline fill him.

"Good, means we got about thirty minutes until he comes back," Kennex grunted, throwing Lysander a mocking smile. The other looked affronted, which made the others laugh. It was the same joke, recycled.

"Just because he's my dad doesn't mean you don't have to give me that look every time," Lysander said irritably, brushing his gleaming brown hair back as he always did when he felt nervous. Of all them, he was the one dressed the best, groomed the finest. Well fed, well nourished, athletic and strong from his time playing rocketball at the public school

He was also the only one who still had a parent. Ironically, the very person he was right now disobeying. Gallis wondered why he bothered coming with them on these little outings

"Don't take it so bad," Cecilia said teasingly, and Gallis felt himself warm, even though she wasn't even talking to him this time-

 _Get a grip_ , he commanded himself. But in all fairness, she _was_ just stunning. She was the one who had brought him and Magnus into the group after their disaster with the spacer, and since then he had felt a sort of kinship with her. Her skin was flawless, her black, almost blueberry flowing about her despite the gritty life, and her face delicate like a flower… but beneath all that he knew she was a hardy fighter. On Ommas, there was no place to be weak and dainty. Though he certainly wished he could have just one- just _one!_ \- day alone with her where for once they didn't rob stores for food and credits, but maybe watched a sunset like Chief Folen…

But the galaxy didn't work that way. Certainly Ommas did not. Kennex pulled out the lockpick he had gotten and jammed it into the security lock of the backdoor.

Gallis stomach growled uncomfortably. How long had it been since they'd had a good meal? Two, three days? His mouth watered just thinking about what they would find inside.

"Doing alright?" Magnus murmured beside him. In the darkness, Gallis could hardly see his face, but he had grown accustomed to seeing his older brother's consistently worried look.

"I'm fine, just hungry. Like always."

The last member of their group cocked her head from Kennex's concentrated side. "I have a few more food wrappings," Adelia said with, if possible, even greater concern than Magnus which made Gallis role his eyes. She acted like the mother group, probably because she was the second oldest. At that, though, she was only seventeen in human years. In Duros years, she claimed to be twenty-four, older than Kennex, but they had dismissed that fairly quickly. Her mother had been a herbologist until drafted by Governor-General Rellius to serve in the Argos Alignment's medical core.

Gone without a word to her daughter, leaving behind only a herb book which Adelia had kept as her most treasured possession. Even now, she held it at her side in one of her pale blue hands, although it would have little use in the coming situation.

"I'll be alright," Gallis assured her. "There'll probably be foodstuffs inside, anyway."

"I'm not sure," Lysander said eagerly. "I heard my dad talking with Commander Vash about another food shortage coming up, there might not be anything we can take without it being obvious-"

"Oh, are you sure the Commander didn't tell you that himself, Cody?" Kennex said loftily. Even in the darkness, Gallis saw the police chief's son's face darken as he blushed in silent embarrassment as the use of the nickname the garrison commander gave him. Something about Lysander 'becoming as a great as a leader as the man who taught me!'

"Commander Vash isn't that bad of a man," Lysander protested when the chuckles died down. "Definitely nicer than my dad, if he caught us here."

"Anyone can be nicer than your father," Cecilia drawled. "He's as stiff as a pole and unapproachable as a _slazer_ cat. Next to him, Vash looks like a marionette."

Kennex clucked his tongue. "Less chatter, I don't want anyone hearing us. We're fortunate enough the owners don't live in the shop, unlike Jarrel's place."

"Mad old man," Magnus whispered, and Gallis silently agreed.

They sat there in silence, Gallis's stomach rumbling two more times. He was beginning to think the lockpick was, in fact, not going to work, and they were being swindled like him and Magnus had before-

With a click, the security lock turned green, and the metal door groaned open.

"After me, tread carefully," Kennex whispered. He entered first, as he normally did in these small-time robberies. Other times, he allowed Cecilia, perhaps the most hardened fighter after him, to go first.

This time, however, they weren't expecting any trouble. Just grab a little food here, a blanket there, and small hold of credits from the register to build their slowly growing amount to one buy buy passage off Ommas.

Personally, Gallis found it all very exciting, even after eleven years of it. They had entered the main market section straight from the backdoor. Meats stood in their coolers, and dried vegetables to the counter opposite of them. Gallis pocketed a few in his filthy pocket, then took one more to eat on the spot. Enough that the owners wouldn't notice, enough that they could survive a week without having to go to another store to survive.

Each went to their own area that Kennex had prescribed so not to waste time; they had already decided to avoid going to the second level where the fine jewels and marble works from the mines were displayed, for the security cameras would pick them out in an instant.

Magnus and Cecilia were grabbing a pair of worn sweaters from the _To Be Disposed Soon!_ Section, to his mild jealousy. He had never questioned if his brother felt the same way about her.

A _chink chink_ grabbed all their attention. Kennex rolled his eyes at them from behind the register. "I know I said be paranoid, but don't get ready to pounce on me," he said behind needle teeth. He went back to trying to pick the lock.

There was a mirror by the exotic clothes section that he stopped at, where some of the wealthier patrons of their town shopped. Of course, "wealthy" was just a marketing trick to make people who went into the section think they were posh. There _weren't_ wealthy people on Cindra, let alone Ommas. All who had enough money quickly went to Argos Major and Minor, the capital of the Alignment.

He stopped in the mirror, eyed himself experimentally. " _Short for a sixteen-year old,"_ was how the wife of the mad old man Jarrel had called him. And he had to agree; even though Magnus was only full year older, he stood only at his shoulders. The only family resemblance laid in their light blue eyes. They were different in all other ways; Gallis had inherited straw-colored hair and a leaner, tanner face and body while Magnus had grown muscular and paler-skinned, like the stormtroopers.

They always mocked Commander Vash and his stormtrooper garrison, but in private, Magnus often talked about that if they never got enough credits doing this, he would join the corps. And sometimes, Gallis found himself agreeing. But with a sigh, he knew they would not accept how he was basically a skeleton compared to Magnus…

 _Not to mention they would arrest me on the spot if they knew I was apart of the gang doing all this._

He turned away from the mirror, and jumped as the glowing orange eyes of Adelia nearly scared him half out his wits.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she whispered.

"Yeah, well it's okay," he grumbled. He saw Lysander behind her, holding some sort of hydrospanner in his hands nervously, no doubt contemplating whether he should steal it or not. Gallis turned back to her. "What is it?"

The female Duros gestured to the mirror with a playful smile. "Liked what you saw?"

He shrugged, putting on a smile. "Just trying to imagine what I'd look like in some of that stormtrooper armor," he chortled.

Adelia sized him up. "Too short, I think," she said with her best impersonation of Commander Vash's authoritative tone. "You'll be drafted to janitorial service, I think."

"I believe mopping the prison floors seems more foreseeable," a much more realistic impersonation of Vash's voice said above them from the second level.

The second level, where none of them had gone. Gallis's eyes shot upward while Adelia slowly turned, her orange ones wide.

No, it wasn't an impersonation at all. Commander Vash, in his old Imperial field armor, gazed down at them from the banister railing of the second level, two bone-white stormtroopers on either side of him.

 **XXX**

 **Kennex**

From the register, Kennex gave them all quick looks before coming around it, arms held at his side like birds taking to flight. _Talk, just talk it's what you're good at._ "Hello, Commander," he said with respect he would have never bothered with in any other conversation. "This is all a large misunderstanding, you can imagine-"

"I can imagine quite a lot," Vash interrupted quietly but sternly from above. He and his men moved away from the banister towards the stairs that fed into the main market.

" _Make a break for it,"_ Cecilia hissed, but it must've carried for they heard the garrison commander sigh.

"I wouldn't try. I have the garrison's walkers and corps positioned outside all the exits. Quite the handiwork with breaking through the security lock, I might add. A gift from that merchant friend of yours, Seron?"

 _Damn it._ He hesitated, now in the center of the room while Vash and his men finally reached the bottom floor. Kennex could hardly believe this was happening to them, now of all times. They had never been caught full in the act; always there had been a reasonable explanation, a loophole they had been able to exploit. This time, there was just no way to talk out of it. Not with the goods stuffed in their grubby hands and pockets.

The olive-gray uniform of the garrison commander grew clearer as he stepped towards Kennex. The stormtroopers stood at attention as he spoke. "All these thieveries over the past decade and a half," he said in that quiet voice. "Police Chief Folen and I had it figured for a group of thieves trying to make a fortune off the miners early on. Never had we guessed it was the group of orphaned children left behind on this miserable rock." _He almost sounds… relieved,_ Kennex thought.

"But the pieces started to click together," he continued, a hand coming up to adjust his combat helmet. Kennex stole a quick look at Magnus and Cecilia across the room. The blueberry colored beauty was listening with rapt attention; he imagined he would be able to hear her heartbeat if he was closer. Magnus, by contrast, had a small frown on his face. Drawn not towards Vash, but towards the four armor-clad stormtroopers.

"The marble shipments were untouched, the very thing we suspected would be starting to vanish under us. But that wasn't the case at all. Small things, like food and clothes and water… simple things, not the work of someone looking to get rich. But no, rather the work of people struggling to survive." Vash shook his head, and he looked around at all them. He paused on Lysander, who refused to meet his gaze.

The old garrison commander sighed. "I'll let this go, this _one_ time," he said, not unkindly. "Now that I know we're not dealing with actual criminals, and just kids looking to survive…"

"I am not a child," Kennex said suddenly, coldly. Always the same thing, being associated as a child because he led a group of them. _When anyone else would?_

Vash gave him a humorless smile. "You're right, you're a man, aren't you? Then why don't you go work in the mines and earn your wages like a real man, instead of doing this with these kids? They're too young to work, at least they _have_ the excuse."

"You think you're so high and mighty," he said, his voice tightly controlled. The familiar hostility he felt towards the other was returning, being so close to him now. "When we all know outside of this stupid rock you're _nothing_ , the Alignment is _nothing_ -"

"Don't mistake my generosity for weakness," Vash said, his voice with tangible threat now. "I came to catch criminals, and instead I caught the most pitiful group of children I've had the misfortune to lay my eyes on. Now get _out_ of here, and don't let me catch you here again."

Kennex immediately backed down, feeling his neck hairs raise. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! What use would it do them if I got arrested?_ "But what are they supposed to do?!" Lysander suddenly cried out, his hand coming off his hair. "There's no work for them, no way to make money-"

"That shouldn't be your concern," Vash said indifferently. "Why are you here, Cody? You, the Chief's _son_?"

"They're my friends, I can't let them do this alone," the other said stiffly, and Kennex snorted. _Good excuse, rich boy. One of these days, I want to hear the_ real _reason._

Still, it brought up a good point. "What _are_ they supposed to do to survive?" he challenged, though this time he made sure not to sound so aggressive.

The old commander sighed, and Kannex thought he saw genuine tiredness in the other. Not that he cared, of course. He motioned something with his arm, and the four stormtroopers left in quiet murmurs, Magnus's eyes following them.

When they had left, Vash exhaled, put a hand up to adjust his combat helmet again. "I said don't let me catch you again," he said finally, averting his eyes. "So… don't let me catch you again."

Kennex got it, but gave the other no acknowledgment. Gallis didn't seem to understand at all, he was looking crestfallen and helpless, while Adelia gave an unreadable look; he had still not been able to read the faces of her species yet.

"Come on, Cody. I won't tell your father about this, but I'm taking you home, alright."

Lysander gave them a helpless look; Kennex waved him away nonchalantly. The others shrugged, silently saying, " _Well, are you going to refuse the garrison commander?"_

"Coming," the young boy said dully, then followed at Vash's heels. They came right after, Kennex pocketing one more dry vegetable on the way out.

The commander hadn't been joking; one of the two creaking AT-ST walkers was outside the backdoor, spotlight trained on it, as was half of the forty garrison detachment. Vash waved his fingers at them again, and the spotlight fell away and the men relaxed.

Kennex grabbed some of the others and steered them away as quickly as he could as they retreated to their little hideaway on Cindra's outskirts.

"That was a close call," Gallis said breathlessly when they arrived in the broken down home. "I thought for certain he would book us!"

"He was awfully generous," Cecilia said as she dumped her goods on the dusty wooden table that sat in the middle of their crude chairs. They all deposited what they had stolen; a good haul, enough to last them a week or so.

Kennex threw in the one dry vegetable he had gotten. "Didn't get into the register to snag any credits," he muttered, disappointed with himself. _Got to be quicker next time, or how will we ever get the credits to get us into space?_

"Don't feel too bad," Adelia said reassuringly. "We'll get enough, sooner or later."

"And sooner or later, Vash won't be able to make excuses," Magnus said in a rough voice, drawing eyes to him. "Lysander was right: Vash is kinder than we give him credit for. But his father, the Chief… we all know if we're caught by him we know we won't get another chance. We've been lucky Vash has been the one investigating this so far. What'll happen when that changes?"

They were silent for some time. Kennex brooded, before eventually picking himself up with a, artifical smile. "Enough feeling sorry for ourselves," he declared with earnest bravado. "How about a midnight swim in Moonless Pool?"

Gallis gave a toothy smile, while the others all gave grateful nods, and Kennex smiled inwardly. _Kennex of the Stage, indeed._


	2. Ep 2: Beginning Part Two

**XXX**

 **Lysander Folen**

He kicked another loose rock on the road, ran his hand through his hair. _Oh man, oh man…_ _Dad's gonna kill me if he finds out about this._

Vash had been silent for most of the walk back. The four same stormtroopers hung a respectful distance back, while the rest of the garrison had long since dispersed for the night. No moon hung in the sky; Ommas had none, and Lysander had only heard of the existence of such floating orbs from the old stories Vash told him when he visited the house.

"Why were you with those children, Cody," the old man asked at last, when they were only meters from the marble house at the center of the residential area. "You don't belong with them! Is this where've you've been, sneaking out every night?"

He remained silent, though he ran another shaking hand through his hair. _How long have they known I was slipping out?_

"You don't belong with that crowd of people."

"Why?"

"You're the son of the _police chief!_ " Vash said angrily. "You don't belong with that riff-raff- basically criminals! All these years they've been leaching off the people of Cindra."

"You said it yourself! What else are they supposed to do! Shouldn't people like us be _helping_ them?"

Vash gave a sound between a snort and coughing up phlegm. "Help? Cody, have you seen this blasted town? There's no one around _to_ help."

And while Lysander swelled with inner frustration, the evidence was around them. Cindra was filled with maybe three hundred people; most of the apartment complexes were empty, the individual houses meant for the wealthy equally absent. No one _wanted_ to stay on Cindra, or Ommas, or even the Argos Alignment. Who wanted to stay in a dying state clinging to the old ideals of the Empire?

"People have to fend for themselves," Vash said with disgust. "I don't like it, you know that. Neither does your father. But the way things are now are better than if Rellius or some New Republic official took an interest in us."

"Well, I think it would be a lot better if someone actually came here to help!" Lysander lashed out. "Since you and dad have done such a _wonderful_ job so far, what would be the harm, how could this be _any_ worse?"

The garrison commander stared impassively at him for a good while, and Lysander gave an equally cold look back. "I don't think being with those children is a good idea any longer, and I imagine your father wouldn't be approving either. Now get back in the house and sleep, Cody-"

"My name is Lysander!" he shouted back. "Stop treating me like you're my uncle or something!"

Vash's lips parted, then closed. He turned away without another word, walking in the direction of the garrison base at the West end of town. Lysander watched him go, half wanting him to come back and restart the argument.

 _Old fool, stupid old man!_ He thought furiously as he entered his home. _Doesn't he know they're barely surviving? Does he care?_ He thought of his little holorecorder that he had purchased a few years back from one of the visiting merchants, where the message of the Princess Leia had boldly stated the death of the Emperor and the Empire, and the success of the Rebellion. _Could the New Republic be right? Does the Empire really not care about anything but itself?_

He crawled into bed, hoping that Vash would keep his word and keep the encounter away from his Father. Eventually, he slipped into a sleep where he dreamed he was saving the group from a pack of _slazer_ cats.

 **XXX**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

His nightly rounds went without problem like usual, and with the added comfort of Vash's promise he would finally crack down on the thieves plaguing Cindra's stores. All that was left to do under the twinkling starlight was to make sure no one was inside the mines still.

The police speeder, the only one they had, came to a quiet halt at the foot of South Tip, the only remarkable thing around for miles. It was a cliff that hovered over the enormous hole that had, according to the legend, been plowed when a giant starship had plunged like a knife into Ommas's crust, creating the artificial mine and opening up the land for the enormous quantity of marble beneath the blank surface.

No one really owned or regulated the mine. The owners had long since departed when they had had enough mines. They owned it only in name now; people came in and out as they pleased, selling whatever they dug out to the occasional spacers who came to Legio, the closest town to Cindra with landing pads. But he still managed it, mainly because it was one of the only things to do now.

He turned on his glowstick and activated the elevator down into the depths of the mine. His trusty DT-29 heavy pistol was tucked securely in its socket, and it gave him a reassuring weight in his side. His large hands easily wrapped around the handle; he had won the quickdraw event every year for the past twenty. He imagined it was one of the most attractive features about him.

Folen knew he was not that handsome to look at. His face was boxlike and scarred from haunting memories he tried to forget. His frame was tough but not athletic; too much time spent sitting and talking with Vash instead of chasing criminals. Not that there were any; Cindra had not had any issue for years, which was partially why the police station now housed only himself and his deputy Asinus.

"Anyone still in the mine, it's time to close up!" he called as the elevator's slow descent finally ended. The mine was quiet but not eerie; the daylight sensors miraculously still worked after a decade of use, lighting up the walkways and tool stations.

 _Chink. Chink. Chink._ Someone was still down here, however. "I'm locking up South Tip, time to stop," he called again, advancing toward the sound.

"Wait, Chief!" a hoarse voice called. "Wait, you have to give me a little more time, just a little! I know I've found something big!"

Folen resisted the urge to berate the other. Sanjin was crazed in the mind, after a near-death experience in the infinite mountain range surrounding them. He claimed to have met the native Crist people, though Folen never found any wound on him from the barbaric people. Ever since then, he had repeatedly stated there was something below the ground, great treasure to be found.

Four years of the gibbering nonsense. But Folen felt pity for the man. It was not his fault, whatever had happened to him. He had been abandoned by his family like the group of orphans who survived on the edges of the town. When life went that way, sometimes it felt like there was no way out. He had seen it, all too many times.

Besides, it was just apart of the regular cycle. "Another day, Sanjin," he called firmly. "Let's get you up back to town, you can tackle the treasure hunting another day."

The former blinked up at him from the glare of the glowstick, in one of the deepest sections of the mine. "Chief, I know you're trying to look out for us, but this time it's here! It's just another few inches below the rock here!" He swung his pick down again, chipping off some marble.

"That's enough, son, like I said, another day!" Folen said encouragingly.

"But-!"

"Now!" he said with sudden authority, which he had long grown used to adopting quickly. "Not going to stay waiting for you to finish. When I say now, it does mean now!" The other didn't move, and Folen said with a bite of impatience, "Don't make me come down and get you myself!" _Please_ , he added silently to himself, rubbing his back. Pain had been building up there for a while again.

Sanjin hesitated, then whacked the pickaxe down with mindless determination.

 _Blast it, boy_. "Alright, I'm coming down to get you," Folen said frostily. He began to trace the footholds down into the deeper section as Sanjin began to furiously whittle away at the white rock. "Just- blast it, stop making this hard on yourself! I _will_ throw you in the cells if you don't come up!"

"Stars of Endor, it's here, like they said," he heard the lost soul whisper.

"Is what here?" Folen said furiously, finally jumping down and landing next to the other. He grabbed him by the shoulders and roughly shoved him out of the way, his patience at an end. "Find another clump of-"

He bent down. No there was no mistaking it. It wasn't some discolored marble, or rough sediment. Something else was here, some different ore.

"They told me it was below here, the Crist," Sanjin said excitedly. "The sacred stone, they said! They didn't want me to find it, but I knew if I found the sacred stones, it would help the town! Help Ommas!"

"You've really… what, what is this, Sanjin?" Folen asked quietly, standing up from the familiar ore.

"The sacred stone-"

"No, what _really_ is it? Or do you not know."

"What do you mean, Chief?"

Folen chewed the inside of his cheek. Was it getting hot, or was it just him? Probably just him; Sanjin was looking at him innocently, with obviously no clue what it was he had just stumbled onto.

"This stuff is called plastoid, Sanjin. It was a very sought after metal by both the New Republic and Empire, but especially the Imperials. You see, it's the main material that's used in the production of stormtrooper armor."

Sanjin beamed. "So I was right? This will help the town? We can give Ommas a place on the star charts again!"

Folen looked at the other. There was no way he would stay silent, it was not in his nature. His hand robotically fell to his belt, where his comlink was. He unclipped it, put it to his mouth. "Vash, I need you at South Tip. Now, don't bring anyone. Just come yourself, as quickly as you can."

The other didn't question why he was calling in the middle of the night. "On my way."

He reattached the comlink to his belt, then turned to Sanjin. "Alright, let's go tell the people, Sanjin," he said politely. "When Vash gets here, you can explain it all to him first, and then he'll escort you to the town in his nice speeder. That sound good?"

"Absolutely!" the other said, thrilled. He went to the footholds, still clutching the pickaxe. Pacen Folen followed, the pain in his back suddenly very reduced. Sanjin lent him a hand up anyways, which he took silently. They entered the elevator, the poor boy almost shaking with excitement.

"Finally, people will believe me," he said, mostly to himself, his face pressed against the elevator cage. "They never wanted to believe the new Ommas was beneath our feet, all this time!"

"Don't worry, Sanjin," Folen said to his back. "I believe you."

He leveled the DT-29 at his head and pressed the trigger. Sanjin crumpled against the railing, a smoking hole where his brain was fried. The pickaxe thudded to the floor, and then silence except for gentle shaking and cranking of the elevator winch.

At the top, Vash was already waiting; military grade speeders could go fast when they needed to. He had his own blaster pistol in hand, no doubt alerted by the firing of the DT-29. When he saw Folen standing and Sanjin's body, however, he holstered it with a low whistle. "I know the lad was a bit crazy, but was this really the way to-?"

"He found plastoid," Folen said tersely. "Here, down in one of the deeper sections of the mines."

Vash's face twitched. "He _what_?"

"You heard me. Plastoid. Here, on Ommas. Here, in Cindra!" He grabbed Sanjin by his left armpit. "Help me load him onto your speeder. We'll throw him deep into one of the ravines."

The other grabbed the other armpit, a hundred emotions running across it as they brought him onto the military speeder. They zoomed away from the mine, Folen's fingers tapping uncertainty on the door.

"You know what this means, don't you?" Vash said after a minute. "Well, of course you do.

That's why you called me out here."

"We can't let Rellius find out about the plastoid," Folen said exasperatedly. "The mines will get torn apart- Cindra will get torn apart! We both know what kind of man he is, what he'll do." he shook his head, his hand fingering the hilt of the blaster uncomfortably.

"What do you think, then?" Vash asked cautiously.

"I think we need to shut down the mine." he turned to the other, who quickly turned away, closing his mouth.

"Shut down the mine? The workplace for more than half the town? You're crazier than Sanjin. I know we can't let Rellius find about about the plastoid," he said hastily as the other opened his mouth to object. "You forget he's the one who bloody put me in charge of the garrison. I know just as well as you do what'll happen. He clings to the Emperor's old designs like you to that pistol."

Folen relinquished his grip on it reflexively. "It won't be permanent," he suggested. "We can say… we can say someone made a crash landing in the mine, say there was a gas leak from it. Your men shut it down, and then you contact Rellius to bring in explosives from Argos, and then just destroy the ore."

Vash nodded slowly. "We could pull it off. The people will be upset, certainly, but they won't risk exposing themselves to a gas leak."

"Offer free transport to Legio for temporary work?"

Vash laughed. "You know, you're sounding a lot like your son," he said as the speeder began a slow climb. "You both always got the mind of the people ahead of yourselves-"

Folen said nothing, but privately he was pleased. _That's my son._ "We have a plan, then." Vash brought the speeder to a halt; they had hit a steep decline; a bottomless well of darkness met them as they looked down. Together, they heaved Sanjin's body off the speeder, to the edge.

"Sorry, Sanjin," Folen huffed, a little sadly. The boy hadn't been that bad, after all No doubt the Crist had corrupted his mind. "But it's just not meant to happen."

With a final heave, they tossed the body down the ravine. It flailed for a few moments, then vanished. They never heard a landing, but Folen was content enough. One loss for the sake of everyone else was perfectly acceptable to him.

"Come on, old friend, we got things to do. And while you're at it, how about you tell me about those thieves you met?"


	3. Ep 3: Trouble at South Tip

**XXX**

 **Gallis Iscander**

They walked back into town to receive the small bread handouts that were handed out by the garrison every morning to the poorest citizens. Gallis took his silently, avoiding the gaze of the troopers; he didn't want any funny remarks after what had happened the night before. He was still shaken up, even after the relaxing dip in the Pool.

Magnus sat down beside him on the dusty street, watching the line grow smaller while the other three of their group struck up a talk with one of the long-time miners, J'dor, who seemed oddly agitated.

"What did you think of, uh, last night?" Gallis inquired quietly.

His brother shrugged. "Nothing too much," he replied easily. "They were bound to realize it was our group sooner or later. With so little people in Cindra, the amount of suspects is pretty low. But I won't lie, I was shaking in my shoes."

"Yeah, same," Gallis said, taking a bite out of the bread and feeling relieved his brother had been worried as well. "I wonder what would have happened to us if they actually arrested us, or just Kennex or someone."

"If it was one of us, we would manage." He said it so casually Gallis looked at him strangely a moment, but his brother looked back questioningly. "What? Come on, this is Ommas we're talking about. We can't slow down, no matter what. You do or you don't make it. You should be aware of that by now."

"Yeah, I guess," Gallis mumbled. "I mean, if you got arrested I would get the group to rescue you."

"You would carry on if you couldn't," Magnus said resolutely. "But thanks," he added with a smile, and ruffled his brothers wild hair. "I'd do the same for you, little brother. In a heartbeat." They finished the pieces; they weren't that big, which was why they were often forced to steal. Making sure the stormtroopers weren't looking, they dug into their pockets for some of the dried meats they had stolen from the Market. It tasted sweet, and Gallis leaned back against the building with satisfaction, mouth working loftily.

Magnus was still looking around, and Gallis nudged him. "I saw you checking out the stormtroopers at the Market," he said with a full mouth. He swallowed, then continued, "You didn't look all that, y'know happy. Given the situation I mean yeah, it's understandable, but why the stormtroopers?"

His older brother bit into the dried meat, eyes now on Kennex and the others. "You know the only books we got our hands on were the old _Imperial Anthology of Victory_ and _The Code: Serve the Emperor._ They all describe the stormtrooper corps as this elite military unit, unyielding and unstoppable. That's what attracts me to join them, if it came to be the time." His brow furrowed. "Last night got me thinking. Those stormtroopers didn't seem like anything I had read at all. Their posture was all wrong, they were whispering among themselves. It felt… like a disappointment."

"We've seen Vash's men before, though. This wasn't the first time."

"Yeah, but this was the first time we saw them in something resembling action. You know nothing ever happens in Cindra, and they do their training exercises away from the town." Magnus rippled his powerful shoulders. "I don't know, it's tough to explain. I suppose I just felt a little let down."

"Well, the Empire isn't the Empire anymore," Gallis pointed out, finishing off the meat and sucking off his fingers for the sugary residue. "We're the Argos Alignment now."

"And Governor-General Rellius still dresses his soldiers in that symbolic armor while we obey the laws of the old Imperial government. I guess the execution is just lacking." Magnus stood up, dusted himself down. "Come on, enough about me. Let's see what's got J'dor all riled up." He helped Gallis to his feet, and the two walked over to the group.

J'dor walked away as they approached, looking no less aggravated. "What's got him so jumpy?" Magnus asked Kennex.

The other flexed his long, pale arms. "He says the mine's been shut down," he said, the confusion thinly concealed. "Never happened before, not since I've been on planet."

"What? Did J'dor say why?" Magnus demanded, watching the miner's furry back join a huddle of equally disgruntled settlers. He distantly noticed that the lanky form of the town nut Sanjin wasn't present in the group, but thought nothing more of it.

Cecilia's head jerked to behind her, and Gallis peeked around her bushy blueberry hair. Chief Folen had arrived in his police cruiser with his half-witted deputy, Asinus, to speak to J'dor and the others. His son was nowhere to be seen: _Stuck at home?_ Gallis thought with some guilt. _Wonder if his father grounded him? Does he know he was with us?_

"Apparently, some merchant vessel crashed from Legio into the South Tip," she said dryly. "Bad containment link, so everyone is being removed. The garrison has been stationed to prevent anyone from entering 'for their own safety."

"It sounds very Imperial enough for me, at any rate," Kennex said scathingly. "Just like something they would pull in the old days." Cecilia and Adelia gave murmurs of agreement, while Magnus remained silent.

"What's say we check it out for ourselves?" Adelia suggested, a gleam in her eye. "We can't enter, but we can just see what sort of setup they got going. Not everyday you see the 'Great Alignment War Machine' in action, right?"

Kennex shrugged, indifferent. Knowing Magnus would probably be interested but to silent to speak, Gallis piped up, "Yeah, what else are we going to do, anyways? Hike through the mountains again?"

"My legs need a break from that," Cecilia complained playfully.

Kennex grinned. "Fine, a trip to our esteemed military it is."

 **XXX**

 **Magnus Iscander**

Even if their often laborious trips through the cloud-kissed mountains was on hold, the walk to South Tip seemed to suck the excitement out of them. They passed by more disillusioned miners, walking their way back into central town.

The high-rise humanoid shapes of the two polished AT-ST walkers, the pride and joy of the garrison, stood at the entrance of a makeshift iron fence that surrounded the entire mine, clifftop and all, topped off with barbed wiring to deter people from trying to climb.

 _Efficient,_ he thought as they drew slightly closer, the whole group feeling curiosity towards the walking metal machines. _But clumsy. I can see a wiring flutter on that section over there; the barbed wiring will fly off soon. And the way those stormtroopers are holding their rifles so casually… so much for the Alignment War Machine._

"Halt," a digitized voice came from behind, making them all jump. Captivated by the walkers, they had failed to notice two dusty armored troopers come up behind them. "The mine is off-limits. You'll have to return to Cindra now."

"For how long?" Kennex asked, stepping forward and putting in mixed anger and confusion in his voice. "I have to get back to work soon!"

The trooper clearly didn't recognize him, or didn't care. "For as long as Commander Vash deems it necessary," the trooper responded flatly. "Now get out of here, unless you want to catch whatever virus the containment link will give you."

"A ship crashed in there, you said?" Cecilia questioned, stepping in front of Kennex before he could perform further. "A big one, a small one? Is it stuck deep?"

The first trooper looked at the second; he shrugged, and they hefted their rifles importantly. "The information is disclosed. Now, do I need to escort you out, or-?"

"Sergeant, we have one more here." They all turned; a third trooper released Lysander Folen's struggling arm. He tossed him off angrily. "I _said_ I could walk, thanks." He noticed everyone looking, and he beamed at them. "Hey, guys!" Kennex clucked his tongue.

"Found him trying to climb the fence," the third soldier reported.

The first trooper gave a mechanized sigh, and on the inside Magnus's disappointment grew. _Standard Imperial procedure is to remove any anomalies from the area. What's this guy waiting for, rain to come before he makes a serious order?_

"TR-21, take them in the transport back to town," he said after a moment. "Tell 22 and 25 to grab the other two cargo ones as well. I believe Commander Vash asked them to be brought to Chief Folen in case any civilians wished to be taken to Legio."

 _You're only now remembering your orders?_ "We'd be appreciative for a ride back, thank you," he said instead, putting on an artificial smile.

The trooper didn't respond, but walked over to the two walkers. The third trooper gestured to them. "Come on, follow me. We'll get you kids and your parent back to the town."

There was some chuckles at that, but Kennex waved it away with a smug smile. They followed the soldier back, his EE-3 rifle held loosely in one hand. Magnus longed to grab it show the other how to correctly hold it.

"You guys should just stay away from South Tip for a while, alright?" the stormtrooper said conversationally. "We don't want any civilians getting injured when there's so little medical supplies on planet right now."

"Shouldn't you be importing that stuff from Argos Major and Minor?" Kennex said mildly, though Magnus could see that challenging look he had had when he talked to Vash in the Galactic Trader Market. "Where's help from the rest of the Alignment?"

"Oh, Governor-General Rellius is sending a supply transport over within the week, actually," the stormtrooper said. Magnus noted his voice seemed higher-pitched than the original trooper. _He's young. He sounds only a few years older than me._ "Commander Vash put in a request for some special supplies, I imagine it's medecine in case anyone is clumsy enough to stumble in."

"I'm certain," Kennex said with the smallest note of sarcasm.

"Hey, Regin- I mean, TR-22, 25! Sorry, still learning number designations," he said almost apologetically to the group. Their guide waved to two more troopers, sitting on the hoods of two of three parked large cargo speeders underneath a makeshift vehical shed. Magnus's eye twitched; _chatting instead of guarding?_

The two came over. "What's up?"

"Orders from the Commander: bring all the transports in. We might be taking civilians to Legio because of no work over here anymore."

"Finally, something to do!" One of them pointed towards their little herd. "Any reason why we have kids with us?"

Kennex's nostrils flared; they took no notice. "Had questions about the mine," their guide said. "Sergeant said to take them back to town. Let's get these things going. You six can ride in my speeder," he added, pointing to a slimmer, newer model military speeder painted in the Alignment regala of blue and white.

Magnus sat in the back with Adela and Gallis, while Cecilia and Lysander took the middle, and Kennex insisted on riding next to the trooper himself. Magnus guessed it was because he didn't want to sit near Lysander. Personally, Magnus had no trouble with the young son of the Police Chief. If anything, he was the closest thing to putting in a good word about his potential for joining the corps.

 _Not that I'm going to applying after this._ He spat outside the speeder, onto the grass. _Work like dirt, get treated like dirt. So much for the Imperial Army._

Gallis nudged him to the side. "Hey, you alright?"

He wrapped an arm around his little brother. _You're all I got, Gallis._ "Just some of that nasty chemical in my lungs," he joked. "Let's get out of here before I'm infected more."

Magnus did not even turn to watch as they passed the gleaming walkers.

 **XXX**

 **Cecilia**

"What were you guys doing out here by the mine?"

She shrugged back, not really keen for conversation with the rich police chief's son. She turned her head, hoping for an excuse not to respond, but Gallis had adorably fallen asleep against Magnus's shoulder, while the older brother and Adelia discussed something about the AT-ST walkers.

And Kennex was determinedly looking ahead, ignoring the stormtrooper's attempts at small talk. _Must be an inborn hatred for being born on Endor Day,_ she thought with a wry smile. With a sigh, she turned towards the eager-faced boy. He was sixteen, like Gallis, but she swore he had the face and attitude of a child. "We were just trying to find out why the mine was closed," she said simply.

He nodded. "Yeah, my dad had told me some ship had crashed in there. Said it was broken beyond repair."

She sighed. _So much for that._ For a few minutes, she had held the hope that the ship might be in good enough shape to maybe fly out… take her away to the stars… "Good thing you're around to tell us these things," she said, disgruntled. She kicked the back of the trooper's seat, but he didn't respond. He was busy making sure the two slower-moving transports weren't falling too far behind as they traveled back into Cindra.

"But I think he's lying."

"Oh, is that right." She tried to make it not sound like a question; she really just wanted some silence, to mourn another crushed dream.

He spoke anyways, his voice almost low enough not to hear. "Don't you think it's weird, we didn't hear anything? I mean, I know none of us have ever heard a ship crash, but South Tip is only two kilometers away. Don't you think we would've heard something?"

"Take a hint, Lysander," she said in a bored tone, looking out the window. But there wasn't anything to look at except the same stupid mountains, same boring grassy landscape.

"I thought I heard you ask about the ship," he said, sounding wounded. "And now you don't want to hear what I think about it? You make no sense. Or maybe it's just girls."

She snorted. "With an attitude like that, you'll go far."

Lysander gave an angry _humph_ , then leaned forward. "Trooper, can I ask you something about the crashed ship?"

"Uh… I'm not really supposed to talk about that," the stormtrooper said hesitantly.

"It's just… well, my dad's the police chief, y'know," Lysander said apologetically. Cecilia smiled, imagining the disgust on Kennex's face. "And I'm a big fan of ships- always like to see them come into Legio, and stuff. I just wanted to know, was her rear engine flux capacitor ruptured?"

 _The what in the what?_ Clearly, the trooper felt the same way. "Uh… yes?"

"And the navigational relay station? What about that? You saw it, didn't you?"

The speeder had gone quiet, listening for the trooper's response. "No, no I didn't see it," the stormtrooper said hesitantly. "But, yeah, uh, that's what Commander Vash told us. The navigator relaying station… yeah." An awkward silence descended, but Lysander leaned back, a stupid smile playing on his lips.

Cecilia rolled her eyes. _Trying to impress me? You just sounded like the biggest nerd you possibly could._

The speeder came to a stop by the police station, a squat building made of reinforced marble that had turned gray with age. The two transports came to halt and their pilots came out.

"You guys stay safe," their guide said with a friendly wave, then walked with the two into the station. Lysander turned around excitedly. " _See_?" he said impotently, pointing at Cecilia. "There _is_ something weird going on!"

"Yeah, what makes you think that?" Kennex said with mock curiosity, winking at the rest of them. "Indulge us, Mister Spaceship Expert."

"Don't be thick," Lysander said obstinately. "I'm not an expert, I made that stuff up, those things don't exist on a ship. But the trooper responded anyways, didn't he? It shows he didn't know what he was talking about- the ship might still be working!"

 _Could it be?_ If Lysander was telling the truth, and he had really tricked the trooper…

"Standard Imperial procedure is to make sure trooper's are fully briefed, and then to tell only as much truth as necessary to civilians," Magnus intoned thoughtfully. "But given the state of Vash's troops… I'd say there's a good chance they don't know the full story either."

Adelia's Duros eyes flashed hopefully. "So the ship might be operable still?"

"Now hold on," Kennex sneered. "We're really going to take the word of the old Sheriff's son on this? Cody's as dimwitted as his father."

"Me and my father aren't dimwitted, Kennex," Lysander said, his fists curled at his side though he made no use of them. "Maybe if you stopped hating me you could see this is a chance for all of you to finally get off Ommas!"

The words sunk in slowly, wiping Kennex's sneer off his face. Cecilia could imagine it now; flying in some sort of gunship from New Republic ships, Magnus and her at the guns, Gallis and Kennex at the controls, Adelia working the engines… a perfect future from dead-end Ommas.

"But didn't Chief Folen say the ship had crashed and was broken beyond repair?" Adelia questioned. "I can understand him lying to Lysander, but why would he lie to Vash and his troops? That doesn't add up."

They stood around, trying to think of something, anything. Lysander's face scrunched up once or twice, looking on the verge of an answer, but ended up closing his mouth each time. Cecilia herself couldn't think of it. Not from lack of trying, but her imagination was carrying her long and far away now. The children's fables Kennex had used to read to them when they were much younger suddenly seemed all the more real.

"Why don't we ask him?" Gallis questioned hazardly. "The Chief, I mean."

Kennex snorted. "Yeah, let's just ask about the most confidential event on Ommas in decades. I'm sure he'll be full of answers."

"We need a look in the mine," Cecilia said stoutly. "See the ship ourselves, and figure out if it's repairable somehow."

"That won't be easy," Magnus warned. "The stormtroopers aren't the best, but they'll catch a group of misfit orphans pretty easily. They might have motion detectors in place, not to mention the scout walkers, and stars knows what else."

"So what do we do?" Gallis asked glumly.

Kennex grinned, jerked his thumb towards the shuttles. "Simple. We hitch a ride to see an old friend."


	4. Ep 4: Rellius and Jabor

**XXX**

 **Governor-General Gathoren Rellius**

"I have to say, your arrival here was very unexpected," he said affably, swinging the glass of Hosnian Champagne to his lips. The sweet liquid burned through his throat comfortably, and he smacked his lips. "You ought to try some, Senator Jabor."

The other offered a small smile before raising the glass. "Please, I'm hardly a senator. Merely a representative of the Republic, come to see what the Argos Alignment has to offer, tucked away from the prying eyes of the galaxy."

Governor-General Gathoren Rellius sat the glass down a little hard on the glass table between the two. He leaned back in the expensively draped chairs. Wampa hair, smoothed and made fluffy, minus the awful smell they reeked of. A rare specimen outside of Hoth itself, let alone their section of the Outer Rim. 'I'm not sure what you mean by that," Rellius intoned, trying to slur his words; it was better if the other thought him drunk. "There isn't much out here; again why I was surprised by your visit."

"Oh?" Jabor sat his glass down, a polite expression on his face. "You must be joking, surely. You are one of the few remaining factions that still openly hold themselves to the Empire after its collapse at Jakku. Such things cannot happen without some little tale to go with it."

 _How I wish that was true._ "There isn't," he said ruefully. "What do we have to offer, here in this windswept portion of the galaxy? The New Republic was content to ignore us, being so far from the Core. When Grand Moff Rannd vanished, the Exterior Sector collapsed. No one of the Empire bothered to reconstruct after."

Jabor nodded slowly. "I do remember that time of chaos," he murmured, an odd twinkle in his eyes. "The fear. The uncertainty. The Republic did very little to help the worlds they had sought to liberate."

Rellius nodded vigorously. The other's hair was silvery, not gray, and his body lean with health, not age; old enough to remember the fall of the Empire, while Rellius himself had already been out of his prime. "So they left us alone. With Rannd gone, the other Governor's bunkered down. Well, I couldn't just let them walk all over us!"

"And so you created the Argos Alignment. A drawn out twenty-two years, you said?"

"Yes, since Jakku we've been left to sustain ourselves any way possible. Tourists occasionally come to see Argos Major and Minor, and spacers and traders to the other planets for what little goods they can produce. Nothing luxurious, just basic goods like wood and marble." He sniffed dispassionately. "Probably why the economy is the way it is."

The New Republic representative's eyes traveled from the silk rug beneath their feet, to the fluffy wampa fur arm-rests, to the polished glass window that offered a view of the Celestial Ocean, and beyond that metal hyperlane that connected them to the looming shape of Argos Minor.

Rellius didn't care if Jabor thought him a wealth hoarder. There had been no foreign dignitary to the Alignment for years upon years. He was determined to make a good impression upon a member of the new Galactic Government. Perhaps it could be the beginning of a new profitable deal between them…

"Certainly your economy has seen better days," Jabor said mildly, turning back to face the Governor. "But then again, so have governments everywhere. The New Republic itself is facing something of a financial crisis. Their shipyards recently shut down, you perhaps know? Former Chancellor Mon Mothma's demilitarization plan has severely hampered the ability for shipbuilding planets to thrive. Why, Fondor recently filed for bankruptcy!" He laughed humorously. "Imagine that," he said quietly. "Twenty-two years after the rise of an aspiring new government, and they have yet to meet even the most basic of promises."

The Governor shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had heard of none of this, but the intensity in Jabor's tone, the tense form of his thin body, and gleam in his gray eyes was enough to try and make him sympathize. "Yes, it is quite a shame. Perhaps the New Republic is in need of new economic opportunities?"

"Speaking of ships, I noticed you possess only a single old dreadnought," Jabor said, ignoring Rellius's attempt to open new conversation. "Why is that? Shouldn't a former Imperial sector still possess it's awesome weaponry?"

Rellius reeled the frustration in. "Well, you should know all about that," he said bitterly. "The Galactic Concordance ordered the old Imperial Starfleet to be removed entirely! There ought to be nothing left."

"But ships don't simply vanish, Governor-General. What happened to them?" A mysterious smile was now on the others lips, and it annoyed Rellius. _Mocking us now, is he? Why, if this were thirty years ago…_

"Actually, they did vanish," Rellius said stiffly, clapping his hands together twice. His elderly Wookie servant Redstripe entered, awkwardly holding a silver tray with fresh glasses of Hosnian Champagne. He took one, but Jabor waved off the second, waiting for Rellius to continue. "Four days after Jakku, my defense fleet decided to take off! No warning, no explanation, just… _poof_! Gone. Only the _Renegade_ stayed behind, due to a complete rewiring of its circuits and engines."

"Gone? How troubling."

"What was your reason for coming to Argos Major, Representative Jabor?" Rellius asked, now upset with having to recount the setbacks plaguing him while Jabor smiled like a Kowawkian Monkey. "To make sure my struggling nation remains on the brink of collapse at all costs?"

Jabor looked offended, his pink lips curling back. "Certainly not. Rather, I came to find out about the condition of your system so that we might be able to work together a deal."

Keeping his voice emotionless was a feat. "A deal?"

"Yes, a deal. You see, in the New Republic Senate there is a curious thing happening. Many senators are displeased with the demilitarization plans being enacted. There are talks of reform, negotiations with the other side, appeasements to try and forestall the process, but none of it is working."

"So, some people are getting… _disheartened_ with the New Republic. The Senate has split into two factions, one favoring the demilitarization and the other completely against it. The militants, the Centrists, are the group I have been advising. They are becoming so fed up with the New Republic that there have been whispers of secession."

He allowed the words to sink in, but Rellius remained impassive. "So you came here seeking a military to fund your rebellion?" he said dismissively. "Sorry, but there's nothing here to fuel your ironic crusade." He felt an inner-disappointment, at having been led on with false hopes.

But Jabor shook his head, the first signs of impatience breaking his seamless features. "Did I not say the Centrist movement wants to keep the military they already have?" he said with disdain. "I came here to see if we might let you in on an… economic opportunity. Something that would benefit both you and us."

"And what is the goal of this?" Rellius demanded, tired of the wordplay.

"Let's just say that some of our future goals can be accomplished here in the Alignment," Jabor said silkily, the gleam back in his eyes. _Fanatical,_ Rellius thought with a reluctant sense of delight. It had been a while since he saw such an eager gleam in another's eyes, when all he saw now were dejected officers and citizens.

And eager people were easy to manipulate. He could already see himself using these Centrists to better enhance the Alignment's political standing. He would put his finger in the pie, taste it, and if he liked it he would claim it all for himself.

Jabor seemed to be enjoying his reaction. "I can see I've caught your curiosity, Governor-General."

"Indeed you have, Representative Jabor. What can the Argos Alignment do to join in on this venture?"

"Well, let's not rush into this blindly this," Jabor said with maddening moderation. "I would like a tour of the Alignment, if I may. To see what it is we're buying, in a fashion," he said with a pale-pink smile.

"Of course, of course!" Rellius said, standing up and making his back crack. But he was too thrilled to register the pain. He pulled out his personal datapad and brought up the communications tab. "I will call in one of our shuttles to examine all the planets in the Alignment; eight habitable total, as I'm sure you're aware. It will take little time to do. You know my system, yes? Which would you like to visit first."

Jabor leisurely came to his feet. "Do not worry about rushing. We have all the time in the galaxy."

He allowed the comment to pass. "But your destination wish? We can leave immediately."

The representative leaned over to view the datapad. "What is this planet you have here, Ommas? In my research I found very little about it."

"Bah, there is nothing interesting there. It's a violently mountainous backwater world with maybe thirty-thousand inhabitants. The only reason it's even on my communications tab is because one of the garrison commander's has recently asked for a cache of proton warheads."

Jabor stared. "And you just hand those out very freely, do you?"

"I trust him. Besides, Ommas is very uninteresting, whatever need he has for them would be equally-"

"But _I_ find the uninteresting to be quite interesting, Governor-General. You'll forgive me if I choose this to be our first destination."

Rellius looked at the other, and he looked back with polite questioning. "You do no trust me?" the Alignment leader said with what he thought was the perfect flavor of intimidation.

But the other didn't so much as raise an eyebrow. "One might think you had a guilty conscience."

"More of a desire to not waste your time," Gathoren Rellius said indifferently. "But if you wish to visit Ommas first, so be it. I will schedule for our shuttle to accompany the supply ship in two days time. In the meantime, then, perhaps you can tell me more of this 'deal' you wish to make."


	5. Ep 5: Legio

**XXX**

 **Kennex**

Legio was in some ways no better than Cindra. It was larger by only two hundred more people; Ommas itself was reported to have only thirty-thousand people, not counting the native Crist people.

The buildings were the same as those in Cindra; greyed marble, small arched entryways, windows made of cheap glass substitutes imported from afar. But even if all these dull characteristics remained the same, Legio possessed the one thing that brought people from all over the planet to it. The landing pads.

Six metallic, flat, completely disinteresting raised structures that to any civilized planet meant very little. To Ommas, they were everything.

To Kennex, it had been the closest thing to the stars his foolish parents had run off to. He longed to get up there as well. All of them did, he knew.

Cecilia craved adventure. Gallis and Magnus didn't talk about it so much, but when forced Magnus always said they sought to explore the galaxy. Adelia wanted to find her mother in the Alignment. Lysander he didn't care about; the little fool didn't seem to have an interest in the stars, anyways. But the rest of them all wanted a taste of what was above.

Gallis and Magnus had spoken of the event that had brought them into Kennex's orphan group in the first place. A spacer who had swindled them out of all their credits. The galaxy, Kennex knew, could be cruel when it wanted. Why, his own story would make even the most hardened flinch. Left alone from birth, cared for by a rundown orphanage before running away from it, surviving off scraps for twenty-three years?

Two ships were on the landing pads, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He had been unsure if she would be here, when she had given him the lockpick her ship had been nearly loaded with marble. And the group was anxious, impatient with Lysander's so called hypothesis. If Seron hadn't been here, it would be a lengthy exercise to calm them back down.

The police chief's son recognized her ship before the others, surprisingly. "That's Seron's vessel, isn't it?" he said, pointing at the small orange cargo ship.

 _Small enough for a pilot, large enough to take the marble shipments off planet._ She was a nice creature, a serpent-like Sluissi. When he had first met her as a young boy, she had frightened him immensely, thinking she would bind and eat him like the serpents the old nanny at the orphanage had told him of.

But she had pitied the starving Firrerreo. She had given him her lunch and spoken honeyed words in Basic, to his shock.

All these years later, their bond was still intact, and nothing had changed. She could not take any of them offplanet, not without a larger ship and proper passes from the Alignment. But Seron did what she could for the group. He clutched the lockpick she had given him that he had used on the botched thievery at the Market as they approached. The Sluissi would be inside, no doubt.

Four stormtroopers guarded the landing pad, apart of the detachment of fifty that reported to Vash back in Cindra. For whatever reason, the old man preferred the tinier town to here. "Identification?" one of the troopers asked.

"We're friends of Seron," Kennex said, spreading his arm wide. Gallis and Adelia waved good-naturedly. "We wanted to see her."

"No identification, no visiting."

"Come on, we've done this before," Kennex said with the proper mix of impatience and disbelief. "You really think five children and one adult in rags are going to do anything?"

The trooper remained impassive. "No identification, no visiting." _Clearly, one not used to us being around here._ Kennex opened his mouth to weave another verbal spell-

"Kennex!" The stormtroopers turned around, confused. Seron slithered her away over to their group, a broad smile on her face. Her pilot goggles were strapped firmly to her forehead, while the loose flight tunic flopped around her.

"You know these children?" one of the troopers said, to Kennex's annoyance.

Seron cocked a thin eyebrow. "Think you mean children and an adult. He look like a kid to you?"

 _Always knowing what to say._ "I tried to tell them," he sighed dramatically. "But they weren't having it. Could have really messed things up if you hadn't shown up."

She _tsk_ ed, the "s" slightly drawn out. Kennex thought he saw the main trooper shudder, to his delight. "Try not to let this happen again, boys, alright? They're with me. It's been over a decade, you should know that by now."

"We'll try to remember next time, spacer," the stormtrooper said emotionlessly. He gestured with a gloved hand. "You're free to enter the port."

They all did; Magnus gave an approving nod. "Now _that_ was how an Imperial stormtrooper should be."

"Trust me, Magnus, you wouldn't want to meet an actual stormtrooper," Seron said lightly, opening the hatch to her ship. The marble blocks were already loaded, and she sat upon one of the taller ones. They all took their own, trying to find comfort on the hard stone. "So, what brings you guys here this time? Don't tell me that lockpick broke."

"Worked like a charm," Adelia said gratefully. "The security door opened with no problem whatsoever. Kennex almost got the register open as well."

"'Almost?'" the merchant echoed. "Why almost? What happened?"

"We were caught," Lysander spoke up before Kennex could respond. "Commander Vash was waiting for us inside the Market. He finally caught up to us."

She nodded slowly, her goggles slithering up and down. "I see. But you're all still here now, so I take it there was no permanent damage?"

"Not really, unless you count Cody getting a little spanking," he added with a jeer. The others chuckled, minus Seron who looked with sympathy to the embarrassed boy. She held a soft spot for all of them, even Lysander who Kennex had never bothered to introduce.

"Did your father learn about it?" she asked.

Lysander shrugged. "If he did, he's never said. But Commander Vash said he wouldn't tell him, either. I don't think he'd lie."

"That's good. I'm glad you're all safe despite being caught-"

"We need to get into South Tip," Cecilia blurted suddenly, then shut her mouth as Magnus put his face in his hands.

Seron was impassive a moment. "Why do you need to do that?" she asked. "I was told by the port authorities that the mine was shut down due to a ship crashing into it. Bad gas leaks. No one should be going in there, especially not underaged residents."

"Cody thinks that it's a lie," Kennex said scathingly. "He thinks the ship didn't crash at all. He thinks it's intact at the bottom." He looked around at the others. "But come on, why would they park a ship there, anyways?"

"Well, South Tip is only a few miles from Cindra, isn't it?" Seron said thoughtfully. "Wouldn't you have heard a ship crash?"

"We were at the Moonless Lake at the time," Adelia explained. "But no one else in town said they heard any sort of noise from the area."

Seron's spindly arms rubbed her scaly chin thoughtfully. "Very strange. So you want to see for yourselves what's going on, is that it?"

They all nodded. Magnus spoke up: "We know it's a long shot, but do you have anything that could help us get in? They've sealed it off entirely with fencing, and they have the garrison's AT-ST's stationed there. Plus I suspect motion-detectors."

She whistled. "Sounds like your garrison is actually being a garrison. Been awhile since I heard of stormtroopers doing anything like that."

"So do you have anything?" Gallis urged.

The Sluissi stood up from the stack of marble. "Maybe," she murmured. "Wait here." She exited out the hatch, no doubt going to the cockpit. Immediately the assembled orphans dissolved into conversation.

"What do you think she'll get?" Cecilia asked.

"Maybe some gravity jumpers?" Gallis suggested. "Those exist, I think."

"Is it really going to help?" Magnus responded glumly.

"Seron always has a trick up her sleeve," Adelia said.

"Against Vash, I'm not sure," Lysander said thoughtfully. "He's a smart man. I think he'll have cut off any loopholes. Remember, there's a lot of miner's livelihood in those mines. I bet other's have already tried to get in."

"Try and think a little more positive," Kennex said as the others faces grew slightly crestfallen. "The odds are bad enough as it is."

"Sorry for being realistic, I learned it from y-"

"Seron's back," Gallis said suddenly, looking at the open hatchway. Kennex frowned, no one was there.

"Good hearing," the Sluissi merchant huffed. "You guys can stop argueing now." Seron had returned, her arms laden with a fat brown canvas bag. With a heave, she tossed it onto the back of the cargo hold. They all leaned off the stacks and scurried over it, Kennex looking over their shoulders and moving his long coppery hair out of his eyes.

"I never thought I might be bringing this out," Seron admitted to them. "But I know that mine is very important to the people of Cindra, and if there's a working ship down there to you guys as well." She unzipped it and peeled it open. A small smattering of gadgets was inside, something from a comic he could have read at the orphanage.

A large grappling gun was the showcase, a giant, needle hook at the socket that looked like it could easily pierce one of the AT-ST's cockpits. There was also a much smaller, humbler looking remote of some sort, with a small dish at the end. Next to that, a single hydro cutter, which Kennex had seen Chief Folen and his deputy use to save a family trapped in their house during a freak fire. A bright white medkit was shoved into a corner of the bag as well. Various other tools like glow rods and heavy wire cutters were also inside.

He squinted. There was something else under the grappling gun that he couldn't quite make out-

"This was a set of gear I got from my old days of working with the Sluis Van Shipyards as a special ops trooper. We used this to break into suspect ships, clear them out." She looked at them with mixed feelings. "Weird, looking at it now. Never thought there would ever be need."

"Why did you hold onto it, then?" Gallis asked.

She shrugged. "Just a feeling I had. I take it you're not complaining."

Gallis tried to lift the large grappling gun out, but his thin arms weren't able to properly lift it out the bag. Cecilia leaned over to help, to Kennex's amusement while Gallis reddened.

A more muscular arm came above them both. Magnus plucked it deftly, examining it with admiration. "Model X-Breaker," he said with admiration. "I read that the Imperial shock troops used this for espionage."

She shrugged. "I don't doubt it, it was top quality in its day. That's a counter-sensor," she added as Gallis instead picked up the small remote dish. "Anything that's trying to do a sensor sweep in the area, it alerts you without being picked up in turn. Sluissi Engineering had a nice trick with making that work."

"Amazing," Adelia said as she picked up the medkit and opened it. Kennex saw some glowing bottles, elastic bandages, and strange things that looked like herbs. "How long have these been stashed in here?"

"Since I left the Shipyards. That's drastvine," she said, pointing to the strange leaf. "The reason it stayed in there while other herbs were taken out is because it actually grows stronger away from the main plant. Something about each leaf being self-sustainable I think; it works very well against energy-inflicted wounds. Sucks the fire right out of it."

Lysander was pulling out the the heavy wire cutters, remarking it was similar to his father's, but Kennex wasn't paying attention to him.

A medium sized black box was still inside the bag, the last object he hadn't been able to decipher before. It curved golden lettering, some formal Sluissi writing was on the lid. His hand stretched for it and picked it up gently. He tried to open it, but it wouldn't.

"Come over to the cockpit, Kennex." He looked up; Soren was already moving out the cargo hold. He followed, box in hand.

She did not enter, but stood at the entry. "I was actually hoping you would be the one to pick that one up. You know I trust all of you… but you're the one who should be caring this." She pulled out a pair of metal cutters, then broke open the latches; he realized they had been forcibly shut together.

"Don't show the others." She pulled off the lid. Inside was a small, curved blaster pistol. It seemed very dusty and old. _Has she not pulled it out since she left?_ He wondered.

"That was my blaster pistol," she said, looking down at it as well. "Made by the Xa Fel, but we never used the kill mode. Only stun." He noticed her scaly eyes were somewhat misty. "Well, most the time. But that's not the point. You use this only if you have to, alright?"

He blinked. Blasters were so rare on Ommas, unless you were a stormtrooper. He had never held one before. "Use it?"

"You're breaking into an Imperial-closed area." She looked at him studiously. "You know that, right? I doubt they'll shoot to kill-"

"Kill?"

"But you should be armed in case. I know how much you care for the others, so use this to defend them." She took the pistol out and pressed it into his limp hands. He suddenly felt very ill. What the devil were they thinking? Vash's troopers might _kill_ them! Those AT-ST's didn't have stun modules!

His fingers curled around it subconsciously, and she smiled at him, mistaking the fear for brazen. "Good boy," she said sweetly. "Come on, let's go to the others and I can explain how all those gadgets might help you guys get in."

 **XXX**

 **Adelia**

Seron worked with them, leading mostly because Kennex had gone strangely silent and eventually excused himself out for fresh air. Magnus was enthusiastic, looking like the adorable

stormtrooper he said he had always wanted to be.

She smiled. He trusted her as if she was his mother, though the blood in their veins and the texture of this skin remained vastly different. She tried not to let it get in the way, and he accepted the effort.

They had bonded many years ago during one such trek in the mountains, when Magnus had foolishly jumped in a small ravine and fallen in, splitting open his arm. It had taken one of the most advanced concoction in her mother's medicine book to save him. Ever since then, the maternal bond had formed, even though she remained only barely a year older.

When night had fallen, they went back to the transports. She spoke with Magnus, who seemed to have an inner fire about him with the plan to infiltrate the mine. Because of his strength, Seron had wisely suggested he be the one to use the large grappling gun. Even now as they walked together, he carried it over his shoulder in the duffel bag the Sluissi merchant had given to Kennex's group. The other's walked ahead of them with Kennex, seeking to take shelter in Legio's Inn.

"How are you feeling about this?" she asked the elder Iscander. "Fighting the Empire? Feel a little strange, going against the stormtroopers you've always looked up to?"

"Not at all," he replied with a curt grin. "You can hardly compare Vash's class of soldier to those I read about in the _Anthology_. Hell, having a group of orphans slip through their tightest security net on the planet ought to convince our esteemed Commander some reconditioning is needed."

She laughed. "Maybe. Or maybe they'll just suck up their pride and pretend like it never happened."

"Sounds like Vash," he said smartly, and they both laughed again. They were silent a time, walking through the dusty, unmarked streets of Legio. The buildings were held closer together than in Cindra, more crowded even though the moonless sky offered no comfort.

Kennex went inside with some credits to pay for a small room in the run-down inn. She didn't blame the owners; no one ever really stayed at the three-story structure, not even the visiting merchants to preferred to sleep in their ships.

While they waited, she watched Gallis, Cecilia, and Lysander chat excitedly about their coming attempt in the next week; Soren had suggested waiting a little for sluggishness and boredom to overcome the garrison. They then began to talk of other things: treks through the mountains, swims in the Moonless Lake, daring escapes from Chief Folen's watchful eye.

Like a family. They _were_ a family. She subconsciously dragged her sleeve across her watering eyes. Was this what it felt like, to be a mother?

 _Would you be feeling the same, Ma, if you were still here?_ She sent the thought out into the emptiness, hoping that somehow it might reach the other woman. Maybe it wouldn't. For all Adelia knew, her mother was dead. The Alignment had not been in serious conflict since it's creation, but she knew pirates liked to harass the _Voyager,_ a space station in orbit around Amorris...

"What are you thinking about?" Magnus had sat down beside her quietly, the bag set down by his side.

"My mother."

"Do you miss her?" he asked, his voice curious. Magnus had stated his parents had abandoned him and Gallis when he was only four and his brother three, so their memories of their parents were distorted and broken. To him, he had declared they mine as well have been strangers, while in contrast Gallis often maintained that he would not mind to see them again.

"I do. She was all I had for a long time. She was my first family."

"Does it bother you, not being with her? Like… another Duros?"

She looked at him. "Sometimes," she murmured, taking in his human appearance. The only other alien of their band was Kennex, but Firrereos still looked incredibly identical to humans. Her blue leathery skin, big orange eyes, and thick fingers stood in stark contrast to the other orphans. "Sometimes," she repeated. "But not very often. I've grown used to having you guys around as family, as people I can look to."

"That's good." He was silent a bit, then said a little roughly, "I can't imagine what it'd be like, to have a connection like that. I mean, I have Gallis, he's my flesh and blood just like your mother is to you. But a strong bond like that… how old were you when she was drafted, again?"

Adelia withdrew the medical journal her mother had left her. She knew the date by heart, but seeing her handwriting had become ritualistic. "Third Season, the 10732 spin. I was eight."

"You knew her much better than any of the rest of us ever knew our parents. You actually had a family before all of us."

"Yes," she said cautiously. She looked at him, but he was looking intently at the ground, at nothing, his eyebrows bunched together with a dark frown creasing his lips together. "Why are you asking this?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Just… something I'd been wondering for awhile, I guess. How you felt, looking and being different from us but still able to call us family."

"I never felt like I didn't belong with you or Kennex or anyone else here."

"I wasn't insinuating that," he said a little quickly. "It was a bad question, I'm sorry."

She sighed. "You need to learn to more sociable, like Gallis. Less time bunched up in those Imperial history books, more time spent talking with us." She cracked a smile at him. "Maybe it'll let you have a normal conversation."

"I hear my name?" Gallis asked, turning his head around to look at them.

"Nevermind it, Gallis," Magnus said casually.

"Well, we want to hear what you guys have to say about what'll happen if we find the ship in working condition," Cecilia asked, also turning while Lysander stood up. "Like… what'll happen, do you think? Gallis won't talk about it!"

Magnus adopted the closed look Gallis had on his face. "I would like to find out what happened to my mother," Adelia said when neither of them spoke. "Travel to Argos Major, or Amorris. Find her… let her know I got off of Ommas."

"I want to travel the stars," Cecilia declared. "Fight pirates, avoid the New Republic Fleet- the stories Kennex always told us about when we were younger!"

Adelia did remember those stories; entertaining adventures of good-hearted boys fighting pirates, a lost Jedi Knight finding his way back to his Temple, a stalwart Captain guiding her ship through unimaginable odds. Fairy tales that had brought color to their repetitive lives.

"I think I'd want to go to Argos Major and join the government," Lysander stepped in, sounding more serious than Adelia had ever heard him. "I know my dad would never let me go… but if I could, I want to help people, more than my dad could ever do on Ommas. I'd go right to the Governor-General and make him turn things around here!"

Cecilia rolled her eyes in such a Kennex-like fashion that they all giggled. "Big aspirations from the rich boy!" she said in a snobbish tone.

"It sounds very nice," Adelia said kindly as Lysander's strong demeanor crumpled like a balloon with no air. "But Gallis, Magnus? What are your guys plans, if we get to the stars?"

The two brothers looked at each other as if they hadn't anticipated this is what they were trying to achieve. "Explore," Magnus said slowly, and the younger brother nodded.

Adelia cocked her head. It sounded like he wanted to say more, but was purposely withholding. They always sounded like this when asked about it. "Are you sure that's all?" she asked. "You know you can tell us anything. I mean, we've been a family for how many years?" she said, looking around at Lysander and Cecilia, the former looking pleased. "I think you could tell us anything."

Gallis eyes darted to his brother, and while they said nothing she could tell some sort of silent, unseen communication had occurred. "We want to see the stars, like Cecilia said," Magnus said casually. "Not much else to say."

"Yeah…"

Footsteps came behind them as Kennex walked onto the front deck. "Bundle up everyone, I think we all need a good night's rest," he declared. He seemed much less agitated than during Soren's counseling. _Maybe happier leading their little family again,_ she guessed.

Magnus and Gallis had no complaints. Magnus picked up the duffel bag and led the way back in, while Lysander proudly stated he would probably get beaten with an inch of his life for staying in Legio with them.

Adelia smiled. Answers could come later. For now, she would be content with the others.


	6. Ep 6: Long Night

**XXX**

 **Gallis Iscander**

He couldn't sleep, tossing and turning upon the mat they had placed on the floor. They had all chosen little areas of the room; Cecilia and Adelia had been given the bed, and the rest lying flat upon the rotting wood. But it wasn't because of the conditions. No, the talk with Adelia and the others had made him more queasy than when Vash had caught them.

 _She's right, we shouldn't have to withhold the truth from them!_ He rolled over on the cot, feeling a scratchy feeling all over him. _But I doubt they would be as accepting as Adelia says…_

Their little family had been together, unchanged, for years upon years. Kennex had started alone, and then Cecilia joined him, then Adelia, and then Magnus and himself with Lysander poking his head in here and there. Together, surviving together, going out together.

He tossed and turned, the feeble blanket hardly keeping him warm. There was little atmosphere on Ommas to preserve heat, and when night fell so the warmth. He shivered in the darkness.

 _We can't tell them. What would they think of us?_

Guilt roiled through this body. _We were lucky we both managed to think the same thing._

It had been a strange curiosity, from time to time, they seemed to either think or say the same thing at the same time when they otherwise needed to be silent. Magnus liked to call it "the silent HoloNet" between them. Sometimes he noticed it, sometimes Magnus did, other times neither were aware but it happened anyway.

 _Just another secret we've kept. How many more from the people who trust us wholly?_ Gallis rolled over in the pad, eyes open until the first rays of sunlight creeped through the shades.

 **XXX**

 **Lysander Folen**

The inn fed them cheaply with bread and dried fruits, which was a very poor meal compared to the rich fresh meats and precious vegetables he was often used to having stored in his home. However he had long grown used to the quality of food the orphans ate- he knew even this simple meal was a bid extraordinary for them. The looks of satisfaction on Kennex and Adelia were enough to tell him so, anyways.

"So, when are we doing this?" Cecilia asked quietly, making sure the inn's owner had gone back to her own devices. "The… y'know."

Kennex tensed. "Seron said we should wait, shouldn't we? Until the Alignment's security becomes lax."

Adelia jabbed her spoon at their leader. "I respect Seron, but that doesn't really seem necessary," she remarked. "I think the sooner we go, the better. For the opposite reason: before they become too entrenched. This is only the second day of the garrison, after all!"

"She has a point," Cecilia put in, brushing her long blueberry hair out of her plate of food for the fourth time; Lysander often wondered why she wouldn't just cut it. "Seron's hypothesis could be wrong: Vash's troops could continue to solidify their perimeter, to the point any chance of getting in won't work."

Kennex snorted. "You sure you're not mixing them up with the Governor Rellius's Starcrash Brigade? This is _Vash_ we're talking about. Old, star-gazing, bald. No soldier is better than their commander- or however that saying goes. They'll get sloppy with time."

He could see Kennex weaving some of his gooey speeches like he was some sort of performer on a stage. "You're insulting his physical appearance, not his tactical capability. His soldiers _are_ good, and so is he. Going quicker before they get used to their fortifications and close loopholes would be smarter!"

"Don't like me offending your little commander?" the other sneered. "Not scoring any points here, Cody. No, we'll go with Seron's advice- _take a hint, Cody."_

Lysander shook his head. _These guys think so lowly of Vash, that they can just walk over them._ "Look," he said flatly. "I've actually seen their troop trainings. They're not up to the old Imperial standards," he said, giving Magnus a courteous nod, "But they're more than a match for countering us, even with Seron's gadgets- given time. Vash trains his troops by trial-and-error. They find a problem, they adjust. If we go before they _find_ any of these loopholes, then we're set!"

Their leader gave another curt reply to which Adelia and Cecilia began to argue; Lysander knew they perhaps wanted to get off planet the most. He glanced towards Gallis and Magnus. Normally the older brother was silent, contemplating the conversation or something. But Gallis was being strangely quiet as well, and Lysander interrupted the debate. "Gallis, Magnus, do you guys have anything to add?"

The others stopped, looked down the table. Gallis looked to be in an intense discomfort, which only increased under the gaze of everyone else. Magnus's face remained impassive.

"Gallis, Magnus?" Kennex prompted, nonplussed.

Gallis gave a half-hearted shrug. _He looks exhausted,_ Lysander thought. _I thought he was used to sleeping on a cold floor?_

"Waiting seems like a good idea," the younger Iscander said. "Just… give them time to loosen up, like you guys said."

"You feeling alright?" Adelia asked maternally.

"Yeah, just didn't sleep too well." Lysander frowned, but just accepted it. There was no sense in forcing information out of him.

As if just to countermand his thoughts, Kennex said, "You sure? Come on, out with it. You go for a walk all night or something?"

"I'm fine!" He gave Magnus a dubious look, then said more subdued. "I'm fine, really. Just not a very good sleep. It's… it's a lot to take it, that we might finally be getting off Ommas I guess. Started to get to me."

 _I can only imagine._ Lysander had never been off planet, but Commander Vash and his own father had often spoken of planets they had been to during their younger years. The galaxy was an impossibly big place. Ommas was but a speck of sand in the bowl of a desert. There had been times wondering if he would ever even go outside the Alignment's sector boundaries-

"Look," Cecilia said impatiently, for Kennex had dawned a similar look to Gallis. "Let's just vote. Say… tomorrow night, or a week from now. I vote for tomorrow."

Adelia raised her hand right after. "Tomorrow."

Kennex crossed his arms, oddly pale. "The next week."

Magnus looked around the table. "Next week as well." Kennex gave a wink of the eye which he did not return.

All eyes fell to Gallis. He hesitantly put his hand up. "Tomorrow."

"What about you, Lysander?" He couldn't believe he was hearing the words. Not that he hadn't expected them to come from Adelia, but _never_ from Kennex. He looked over, disbelieving, and he gauged the other disappointedly. The orphan leader had an intent look written across his face: " _vote against."_

 _He doesn't care about the logic, or me. He just wants what he wants._ "Tomorrow," he said with a mocking grin at the other. His face contorted and he looked very likely to have an outburst, but his mouth remained shut. It wouldn't make sense to take back what had been his own invitation.

"It's settled then," Cecilia declared eagerly. "Come on, we need to get to the landspeeders before they go back into Cindra!"

They piled out the exit, Magnus lugging Seron's duffel bag. Lysander was about to put his foot out the door when a smooth textured hand caught him around his back collar and pulled him back in and against the wall.

"Think you're cute?" Kennex breathed harshly, his breath foul and alien. "I give you the chance to give a good input, and you purposely go against me? This is why you'll _never_ be apart of our group."

"So to be apart of your gang, I have to just do whatever you say?" he said between clenched teeth. "Sorry, I actually have a mind of my own."

Kennex's sharp fingernails dug painfully into the front of his shirt, but he refused to acknowledge them. _Won't give you the satisfaction of seeing me squirm!_ He thought defiantly, though on the inside being this close to the other's furious face was very intimidating indeed.

"You're a little stormtrooper wannabee," the Firrerreo hissed. "You're _supposed_ to follow orders. Isn't that what your daddy tells you?"

"My daddy isn't even around half the time," he snarled back. "Where's yours, huh? They're not here at _all_. Bet they could tell outright you'd be a controlling, manipulative little git!"

Immediately he knew he had gone too far. Kennex's eyes widened, and his hair lifted as he drew his other hand back in a closed fist, and he braced himself-

There were sudden footsteps, and Kennex quickly lowered his arm. Gallis paused at the entrance, looking between the two. "Sorry… I just felt something was… wrong," he said hesitantly, looking between the two.

Lysander breathed a sigh of relief and Kennex reluctantly released him. "Just talking," the other said lightly. "Everyone ready to go?"

"Yeah, we were just waiting for you guys to come out." Gallis walked out, and Lysander looked to the other with as plain a face as possible, despite his heart pumping like a piston under the skin.

The older fellow's lip curled. "Say something like that again, and next time I won't care if someone walks in." He slammed him against the wall one more time before following Gallis out into the bright sunlight.

 **XXX**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

The night didn't seem to have lasted very long. Paperwork was in such high abundance he didn't have time for much more than simple trip around Cindra before coming back. Stacks of complaints from the miner's, messages from Legio about the sudden influx of unemployed peoples. At morning's light, he decided enough was enough. Some solid physical evidence that the situation would soon be ratified might calm his nerves, as well as that of the others.

"I'll be back, Asinus," he called, putting his cap on. The deputy gave a half-hearted wave, busy chewing through a box of sugar rolls.

He hopped into his speeder in the dawning sunlight; _missed the sunset again. Sorry, love, all these blasted letters keep getting in the way._ The speeder burned to life and he zoomed out, passing his own house in a minute or so. It had been two days since he'd been home, he hoped Lysander wasn't with the orphans and had been capable enough to carry on his own at the home.

The patrolling AT-ST's saw him a mile off and trained warning lights on him, making him curse as they blinded him. He stopped at the checkpoint, where the sergeants allowed him to pass after showing his badge. Folen hopped out the speeder, going into Vash's makeshift office.

The older man showed no sign of wearing down. In fact, he looked more alive than ever. His combat helmet hung more tightly around his frame, and his shiny officer body armor burned brightly in the gas lamp he held above his datapad. His eyes followed a cord trailing out of it; it fed into a small antennae.

"What news from Rellius?" Folen asked, wanting to just get to the point.

"I have some good news," Vash said oddly. "The supplies are arriving tomorrow. We can finally set down the explosives and blow up the ore."

"Well, that's fantastic!" Folen exclaimed, feeling as if a huge weight was leaving his shoulders. "We can tell the miner's they can return earlier than thought! No harm has been done, not even the merchants can complain-"

"There's more… good news." A fake smile crossed the other's wrinkled lips.

"I don't like that look."

"Rellius is coming with the supplies."

" _What?"_

The other sat down in his chair, leaned back in it while Folen approached his desk, face reddening. "Why the devil is he coming with the supplies? He _never_ visits Ommas; don't tell me he's so bored with leading our damned nation he's come to watch a few fireworks?"

"His report wasn't specific, but it sounds as if he has a New Republic dignitary with him," Vash said, his voice going stranger still. He gave Folen the datapad, who tapped the screen experimentally; he had had very little experience with advanced technology like this. The notice was there alright, complete with the signature of Rellius's secretary and stamp of the Alignment.

He looked up from the data pad. "What are we going to do? We can't let him see the plastoid, he'll stop the demolition."

"I know." Vash took a deep breath. "We seem to have caught ourselves between two great walls, and are quickly running out of space."

Folen rubbed the stubble on his chin; there had been little time to shave, and his jutted chin suddenly felt very cold, just like the rest of him. "Did he say he was specifically coming for the demolition?"

"No, only that he was coming with the dignitary-"

"Blast it, who the hell is the dignitary anyways?"

Vash shrugged. "You have me there. Someone sent to make sure we're not breaking the Concordance guidelines?"

Folen snorted. "Yeah, ship the inspector who's supposed to make sure we have no dangerous weapons over with a few proton warheads. No… no, it says here they're here to inspect the planet?" He laughed despite the situation. "What the devil could _anyone_ hope to inspect on this uninhabitable rock."

"You live on this rock," Vash reprimanded him, pacing about. "Perhaps I can delay them at the reception?" His lip curled. "Yes… peace loving people are the type the New Republic likes to employ. I should be able to derail them while I have my men take the warhead back to here. You stay and monitor the garrison while I'm gone, and when the warheads arrives you detonate it. Job done."

"Sounds better than anything I can come up with," Folen conceded, rubbing his temple. "We're getting too old to have this kind of stress about us."

Vash grabbed the datapad, began typing on it. "Come now, I thought you liked helping people?" he chided.

"I preferred it when I didn't have to worry about our Governor finding a stockpile large enough to rebuild the old stormtrooper corps."

"Yeah, well, things have been easier," Vash grumbled. "Get home, catch some sleep, you look terrible. I can imagine Cody needs some affection."

"The boy's strong," the Chief said absentmindedly, trying to piece together the whole sequence of events in his head. "He hardly needs me, he's doing fine."

Vash clucked his tongue. "No son ever said they didn't need his father, and I shouldn't be hearing vice versa. Get home, Pacem."

"Alright, alright! You stay busy, too, you old scoundrel."

"Good night, Pacem."

He got back in his speeder jetted his way back to Cindra…

… and feeling energized about having a solution coming soon to their problem, returned to the stacks of angry complaints to write soothing responses to the citizens he cared so much about.


	7. Ep 7: Making the Move

**XXX**

 **Magnus Iscander**

The sun dipped down, behind the giant ringing mountains. Everyone was huddled in the little hut, in the main room. Waiting, just waiting. It would be tonight, so suddenly happening. To break into Vash's encampment, and find the ship they were hiding.

Or find out if there wasn't one.

He could hardly blame Gallis for the awkwardness he had had. It had been just as well they had both been able to feel what the other was thinking; a strange tendency they had developed, over the years. But that mystery dwarfed in comparison now.

What had been like a fantasy was going to become reality. He turned the grappling gun over in his hand. He would be the one to fire it, into the Tip itself, and they would swing themselves into the mine under the cover of darkness. That was the working theory, at any rate. He was certain Vash or one of his troops would spot them, a group of children swinging like fools in the night? It was too much like a dream.

Cecilia could hardly contain her excitement. She had tried several times to talk to him about it; she liked him the most of the group, he felt. Maybe it was the reassurance in his calm demeanor. But he had no words for her this time, and because of this she had become almost as eccentric as Lysander during one of their normal robberies, in contrast to Lysander himself who seemed oddly subdued. He twisted his lip, then watched as the light faded away above them.

 _It's time._ Clearly, they were all thinking the same thing. Kennex cleared his throat. "Well… well this is it. Let's start heading out, unless we have a consensus to wait this out?"

Cecilia snorted. "Can't put this off any longer, Kennex. Let's _go_!"

The young man winced. "Alright, then. This is just another robbery, guys, remember that." His words sounded forced and artificial; he seemed to be speaking more to himself than them, and Magnus frowned. Kennex had been, after all, the only other one to vote against going today. No doubt he felt the same anxiety Magnus had buried below.

 _It's one thing to break into the market, or some home. This is basically breaking into Vash's compound, this is attacking the military! We'll be lucky if we don't get arrested… or worse._

The exited the hovel, beginning the walk towards the mine. They knew the way well enough even without the light. But even with that knowledge, the mine was like a glowstick in the darkness; the town shined with its tiny lights in the distance, but the garrison's bright searchlights was a candle.

"How are you feeling?" Magnus murmured to his brother.

Gallis shrugged. "Okay. Just… a little nervous."

"That's fine. Perfectly fine. We'll be fine."

"Why do we keep lying to them?" His voice had dropped, and Magnus could tell that the real tension in his voice was not from the robbery after all. Maybe his little brother hadn't grasped what this all meant yet. Instead, he was focused on something trivial like _this_? He felt so surprised he laughed, making the other's turn around to look in confusion.

"Shut up, back there," Kennex hissed. "Sound travels around here, you know that."

"Sorry, sorry," he said back, then dropped his voice so that only Gallis could hear him again. "Really? This is what you're so worried about?"

"We shouldn't have to keep the truth from them. What's the point, anyways? They'll find out eventually if- _when_ we do it."

Magnus ran a hand through his neat hair, exhaling hard. "Gallis, you worry too much."

"You don't trust them."

"No, I just don't think it's necessary they know."

"Yeah… well, I do."

"And we said I would make all the big decisions for us. Just relax, this is hardly the time for this. Besides, this is our chance to actually make it happen!"

His younger brother, even in the darkness, continued to look disturbed. "I know we said that, but… it just feels wrong. We've been with them for almost ten years, we've done everything, told them everything except what we really want to do when we get to the stars. Come on, it's not even that bad, Cecilia wants to do pirating-"

"She wants to adventure, not pirate. No one else is even close to what we want to do. Drop the subject, we'll tell them when it's the right time."

"But-"

"Enough." His voice though quiet ringed with harsh authority, enough to make him recoil towards himself. Gallis certainly turned away quickly, stuffing his hands out of sight. Magnus could almost _feel_ the frustrated attitude coming off him, but this wasn't the time for it.

"I know you want to do it, and maybe we can tonight. But to do it, we have to give it our all. We've never done something this big before… it'll take all our concentration to get in there. And when we do find the ship, when we do take to the stars… we can tell our comrades what we're going to do."

"They're our family," he sniffed impotently, but in a much more obedient tone. "Let's just get this done so I can get this off my chest."

Magnus fumbled with his thoughts a for a bit. "I'm sorry for sounding so angry," he said at last. "You know I'm just doing what's best for us."

"You say that every time you get upset with me."

"I get upset because you don't let me do what I need to do."

"Well, maybe that's the problem," he said in the same defeated tone, then shut his lips no matter what else Magnus said.

With a hiss of impatience, he looked forward. The mine was much closer; ten minutes they would be to the perimeter, dodging the patrols, avoiding the searchlights, to finally get to the stars.

Despite himself, he curled his lips into a sneer. _Ready or not, Vash, here we come._

 **XXX**

 **Cecilia**

The Imperials had been busy since yesterday. Two perimeter kiosk's had been set up, each with what looked like four stormtroopers and a military grade speeder for each. Under the cover of the moonless night, they crept towards the rear of one of the kiosks, to which the high barbed fencing was the closest. Around the fence, three patrols marched tirelessly, the beams of AT-ST walkers occasionally flashing and making her heart race.

"When the walker comes by, you two know what to do," Kennex whispered throatily, his eyes trained on the approaching vehicle before turning to her and Gallis. "You only have a few moments, so make it snappy. We can't afford to get caught doing this."

 _Clunk. Clunk. Clunk._ "We know," Cecilia said as loudly as she could over the stamping. She felt sweaty despite the cold of night. Pressure? Desire to impress Magnus? _Both, probably._ She brushed her hair from her eyes. _Just stay focused._

They could hear the kiosk's contingent talking amongst themselves inside, though it was muffled and incomprehensible. She wondered what stormtroopers talked about. They always seemed like such faceless, robotic like figures it was difficult to see them as conscripted people from throughout the Alignment.

 _Clunk. Clunk. CLUNK._

 _Show time!_ She pulled out her tool; Gallis held one as well. Simple tools: heavy wire cutters. Designed, Seron had explained, for cutting through thick circuitry in terrorist bombs. It would cut through the metal links of the fence fairly easily, if loudly, which was why they needed the walker's sound coverage so the kiosk wouldn't hear them. The other's flattened themselves against the outpost's shadow as they knelt beside the fencing.

 _Snip, snap. Snip, snap._ She went as quickly as she could as the walker stamped past, it's searchlight washing over the ground in front of it-

" _Down_ ," Gallis suddenly hissed, pushing her to the floor. She tried to get up but his arm wrapped around her back, pinning her. They were suddenly bathed in the beam. It washed over them a second, then went to the fence, where they luckily hadn't made a lot of progress, before focusing back on the ground and continuing it's way.

"Thanks," she whispered. "How do you know these things?"

"Hell if I know. Come on, we need to hurry." The wire-cutters _snapped_ through more of the metal until they had finally broken enough pieces to take out a small hole even Kennex's tall figure could fit through.

Gallis motioned for her. "Ladies first."

"Coward," she said with her tongue stuck out, then slipped through. Her hair caught on the ripped metal for a moment, then came free painfully. They were not inside the mine yet, but past the fence. They were at the opposite end of where the elevator was; they would certainly not be able to use it, not with the garrison HQ right next to it. Which was where Magnus would fit in.

The others quietly slipped through, with Kennex and Adelia awkwardly managing to fit the detached fence back into place. Cecilia watched the outline of their shadows move, and then the muscular arm of Magnus lashed out. "Wait," he said quietly. "Standard layout would be to have their motion detectors around the rim of the mouth. Look for smoothed earth, they'll need to have made it totally flat for the sensor lasers to not be interfered with."

She bent down onto her knees, her eyes straining in the dark. She was beginning to think she noticed some strangely flattened area when a low, distant whine snatched all their attention. "The devil is that?" Adelia whispered, her orange eyes glowing dimly at the direction of the HQ.

"Sounds like Commander Vash's speeder," Lysander said cautiously. "Yeah, there, look. And two of the larger transport ones" His hand pointed towards a light-green shape exiting the hangar in the direction of Legio, along with two larger gray speeders. She couldn't see who was inside the small green one, but there was no point in arguing.

"Bet you got used to the sound of it," Kennex said sardonically. "You'd recognize it a mile away, wouldn't you you little scumbag-"

"Now is hardly the time," Magnus cut him off fiercely. "Focus, keep looking."

She couldn't see his reaction, but she imagined the anger on it. However, she had again found the spot Vash's speeder had distracted her from. "Over here," she whispered to Magnus. "This looks purposefully flat."

The older Iscander crawled over, inspecting it tensely. Though he touched nothing, his frown turned into a triumphant look. "Yeah, I can sort of feel it there. Good find."

"Feel?" There he went with that sort of sixth sense premonition he always talked about. Him and Gallis just seemed abnormally lucky sometimes. However, this time she was grateful for it, and merely had curiosity in her voice.

He shrugged. "Yeah. Everyone, come over. Adelia-"

"Do you have the scrambler," Kennex said irritably. "I think we agreed _I_ was leading here."

"Whatever." Magnus gestured for Adelia to come forward, and the Duro reached into her pocket to pull out the electronics scrambler. She held it experimentally in one blue-tinged hand, pressing some buttons here, swiping a finger there-

The screen came to life, a deep red. Gallis quickly moved to shield her from the garrison's view. "Picking up high energy electronics," she confirmed, turning uncertainly from Kennex to Magnus. "The motions sensors?"

"Undoubtedly," Kennex said before Magnus could respond. "Turn that thing on."

Adelia pressed her index finger on the screen, and it went from red to blue. It released two low-pitched beeps, and then flashed green. "Okay, it says everything in a ten foot radius is down," the Duro said. "Let's move, quickly. The sensor's range will end in two feet."

Their feet slapped gently on the cracked stone. Again she brushed her hair from her face; it was becoming matted with the sweat now. The excitement was getting to her. From here, at the mouth of the mine, they would see inside, see the ship!

"Alright, everyone keep low, and creep towards the edge," Kennex said after a moment's thought. "Doesn't look like they posted any guards around the lip…"

Cecilia snorted despite herself. "Why would they? Who are they expecting to break in, the miners?"

"Poor management," Magnus grumbled.

"Who cares?" Adelia whispered. "Let's get a look at what sort of ship crashed in there!"

 _Thanks, Adelia,_ Cecilia thought to herself. Voicing the desperation she herself was feeling. The rock gave way feet in front of them. Her elbows pulled her closer, closer, _closer_ -

And finally, they saw… well, nothing. A dark, empty abyss hung below them. None of the usual lighting was there that often showed the miner's path down into the mine. It was simply a dark hole that they could see nothing into.

"Well, that's disappointing," Lysander commented. "But guess this shows it really is necessary we get our way into the mine, to see for ourselves."

She felt disappointment, and then anger at Vash and Chief Folen for hiding it away from her. _Holding it back, until the very last moment! Just let us have it, take it off your hands!_

"I'm not sure we should be going in there," Kennex said, sounding slightly fearful. "We can't see shit if we go down. We could fall, trip-"

"Are you kidding me?" Cecilia said, barely remembering to keep her voice down. "When we're right _here_? We'll never get closer than this, especially on our first time!"

"Cecilia's right," Adelia put in more patiently. "Once they find the hole in the fence, they'll strengthen their perimeter. This is our only chance." Lysander nodded his consent, to Cecilia's gratification. She turned to Gallis and Magnus, but they were staring into the pit, twin perpetual frowns on their faces. "Gallis, Magnus?" Adelia asked. "What do you guys think?"

"Don't you think we'd see the outline of the ship?" Gallis said cautiously. "I mean… I just don't see anything out of the ordinary. I have a weird feeling about this…"

 _You've got to be kidding. You're going to bail out now, after voting to come tonight?!_ "It's the darkness," she said with thinly veiled contempt. "We're going in, tonight, we all agreed!"

Magnus sighed. "We did vote to that," he said in the same disconnected voice. "But there's just… _something_ wrong here. I don't think this is going right."

She just couldn't get mad at Magnus, even if he was making her as furious as Kennex and Gallis. Putting a cold hand on his shoulder, she said, "Then let's make it right by getting down there and into that ship, no matter what!"

"Yeah," he murmured, drawing the grappling hook launcher. "That's what worries me."

 **XXX**

 **Gallis Iscander**

He watched as his brother rested the grappling gun on the lip of the mine's crater, aiming for one of the protruding rocks to their left that had a walkable path down. Every minute that ticked by seemed to be making the pit of anxiety in his stomach increase. What if Vash found them? If one of them fell in? He had only been inside the mine once, and he had never heard any of the other's talk about its innards either. What if they got lost in the darkness?

The grappling hook shot out with _thwunk_ and shot out towards a rock midway down the steep slope, like a nightbird slicing through the air.

 _Thwick!_ He released the breath he'd been holding, looked to Magnus. He had a satisfied look on his face. "It's in," he said loudly enough for the others to hear. He hit a switch in the gun, and it released four long stakes. He held it the ground and they instantly began to drill into the ground. Gallis watched in fascination, having never seen such advanced technology before. _It's a good thing Magnus read all those manuals. Looks like he knows how it works._

"And here I was thinking I might have to remember how those things work," Lysander whispered with respect. "You're good with this stuff, Magnus."

His brother pulled on the sunken grappling gun experimentally: it didn't even twitch. "I know. "I'll go first, we should go one at a time, since I don't know the strength of the cord. When I get to the other end, I'll shake the cord to let you know to come across."

His hands wrapped around the coord, then hugged his knees tightly to it. He began to inch along cautiously, sometimes looking back. Gallis gave him a sincere thumbs up, though he wasn't sure if the other saw it in the darkness. Either way, Magnus picked up the pace, and he became indiscernible in the pitch black.

Kennex had his hands in his pocket: Gallis had noticed that happened since they first left their hovel. He seemed to be playing with something in his pockets, although he alone had opted to not carry one of Seron's useful tools. Gallis touched him on the shoulder, and he flinched. "Hey, you okay?" Gallis asked hesitantly.

The Firerreo nodded slowly, bit his pale bottom lip. "I'm fine," he said shortly. "Just a little nervous… about climbing the rope."

"It's just like that time we crawled across the clothesline into Deputy Asinus's house. Nothing to it!"

"You're right," Kennex said, and even flashed his famous smile. However, Gallis thought it was a little too forced, his tone fake. He had known the other long enough to tell between when he was being truthful and acting. However, he wasn't about to press point when he himself was feeling the pressure.

"Magnus made it, he's jiggling the line!" Adelia said softly. "Who wants to go next?"

"I'll do it," Cecilia said instantly, her eyes alive with anticipation. Her hands delicately closed around the rope, and she tossed her hair out of her face, making Gallis's heart flutter. _Keep it calm, Casanova,_ he reprimanded himself. _This isn't date night._

The blueberry-haired girl faded out of sight just like Magnus had, and two minutes later the line shook again. Lysander volunteered next, since he held their light sources. Unlike the eagerness of Magnus and Cecilia, he looked downright terrified of crawling over the maw of the darkness.

"You'll be fine," Adelia said encouragingly, though Gallis was more certain her impatience was speaking rather than the motherly thoughts. "Just don't look down-"

"You can even _see_ down," Lysander moaned. However, he steeled himself and began to inch across.

"Don't slip," Kennex said with soft malice. Gallis gave the other a sidelong look: he was staring at Lysander's form with more dislike than normal.

By contrast, this seemed to fill Lysander with courage, and his speed increased. Three minutes later, the line tugged again. Adelia looked between them: Gallis gestured. He was still feeling quite ill about the whole situation, but felt if Vash and his troops were to come now, better he was caught with Kennex while the other's could get away.

She gave a friendly wave before moving along the line, just leaving him and their Firerreo leader. Kennex was again fingering whatever it was in his pocket, and Gallis couldn't hold the curiosity in any longer. "What do you have?"

"Huh?" Oh…" Kennex's hands came out, empty, and he straightened his shirt. "Just a good luck token I brought with me. Make sure we succeeded in finding the ship, y'know."

Again, the actor's talk. "You know you can tell me," Gallis said, his voice sounding strange in his ears. In the back of his mind, a voice sounding very much like his own said disapprovingly: " _If you can't tell him Magnus and your secret, why should he tell you his?"_

Clearly, Kennex felt the same. "We all have things to hide from each other," he said a little tensely. "Just because we're a family doesn't mean we have to be entirely open books. Looks like Adelia's made it," he said before Gallis could reply. "I'll go next."

Gallis blinked, having expected for his leader to allow himself to be the last member. _You messed up, he's upset with you_ , he thought sadly. "You got it," he said dully.

"See you on the other side." Kennex disappeared quickly, apparently his fear of crossing the line gone. He was entirely alone, sitting in the darkness. The distant lights of the walker's swished back and forth, the only sign of light around.

The line jiggled again, and he put his cold hands around it. Instantly, a sort of electrical feeling went through him, like he was being live shocked. He flinched, but it wasn't a external source. His mind was going haywire, a headache pounding in his head…

He looked down at the grappling hook, suddenly suspicious of it. _Something's wrong with it._ Another unexplainable premonition? He smacked himself on the head. _Cut it out. What's up with me lately?_

Tentatively he put his other hand on it, gently easing his whole body onto the tick line. It was cold to touch, burning his hands. He moved a little long, reminding himself this was no difference than the clothesline he had crossed years ago.

 _You idiot, go back! The grappling hook's come loose!_

He pressed onward. A dim light shined ahead of him: Lysander had finally gotten his glowsticks going, now that Gallis was getting close. The light was bright enough to light the ground at their feet, and dim enough that unless the stormtroopers looked right into the mine it would be unnoticeable.

 _Go back! You won't need a glow rod if you fall to your death!_ Enough was enough of this weird sensation in his brain. Almost angrily, he slapped his hand forward on the cord, pulled himself forward-

It slackened in his grip. He heard a horrified gasp come somewhere in the darkness ahead of him; his hands reflexively closed around the cord in a death grip, his knees locking together on it. It did nothing; he was starting to swing forward as a loud _clank_ came from behind as the grappling hook came loose and smashed itself against the rocky wall-

Gallis Iscander swung forward into the blank, dark face of the mine's wall.

 **XXX**

 **Governor-General Gathoren Rellius**

The hyperspace trip to Ommas was filled with delightful talk about this future deal to be made with the Centrists. Jabor smiled pleasantly throughout it all, laughed politely at his little jokes, made positive comments on the state of the Alignment.

It was delightful, but Rellius had been a politician for over forty years. His gray hair proved it. And he could that through this delightful chat that he had gained absolutely zero new information on the deal itself. Jabor was not even that old and was as great a master of words as the late Emperor, and he realized with disgust it would take more effort to weasel things out of the little representative.

So when the shuttle landed in the tiny spaceport in Legio, he was not in a good mood. He waited at Jabor's side as the ramp lowered, then descended down. Darkness had just fallen on the planet, but the waiting presentation of stormtroopers was easily discernable in the shuttle's landing lights.

Ever aging Commander Vash waited at the foot of the ramp itself, dressed strangely enough in officer combat armor. He bowed his head respectfully as they came down. "Governor Rellius, an honor as always."

"Indeed," Rellius said with a smile. Vash was a good man, which was why he had placed him in total control of Northern Hemisphere of Ommas. "Your presentation remains spotless."

Representative Jabor extended a hand to Vash, and the military commander took it hesitantly. "This must be the guest I was notified of," Vash said primly, if a little strained. "Welcome to Legio-"

"You don't seem very thrilled with us being here, Commander," Jabor commented breezily, not even looking at Vash but rather the lines of stormtroopers waiting in formation.

"When I asked for some supplies, I was not expecting the Governor-General of the Alignment or a representative from the New Republic," Vash replied with equal coolness. "My apologies if I'm 'less than thrilled.'"

Jabor looked at him. "Why do you need high level explosives, Commander?"

Vash's eyes flicked to Rellius, who shrugged with some embarrassment. He hadn't even asked Vash what they were for, had simply trusted they were for a good reason. How sloppy that must look now.

"There's been a… situation in the South Tip Mine at Cindra," Vash said after a moment. "We require the explosives to rectify it." He clasped his hands togther in front of him when Jabor said nothing except cock his head. "Now, I understand your visit was to explore the planet? My speeder has been fueled and readied for a journey of the seven towns in the Northern Hemisphere, if we can begin in Legio-"

"Why not begin at Cindra?"

Vash stopped. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, your transports are already heading there for this… 'rectification,'" Jabor said a little too innocently, his hand waving carelessly behind them as one of the proton warheads was unloaded. "Why not we accompany them? Cindra is the closest town to this port, anyways. Wouldn't it be a logical choice to begin there?"

The Commander shrugged, though Rellius's sharp eyes noticed a small bead of sweat go down his cheek in the cold air. "I have a pre-crafted plan," he protested. "Legio would be visited in only two hours-"

"And yet I wish to see it now," Jabor said inquisitively. "Unless you have a reasons for us not to be there?"

Vash bit his lip. "Perhaps Legio be explored, first?"

"No. I think I had quite a nice view of this… 'town' from the shuttle's landing. I wish to see Cindra. _Now_."

"I… cannot."

 _Stop embarrassing me, Vash,_ Rellius thought silently. _You know how important it must be for the New Republic to legitimize us! If you knew of this deal Jabor could be offering…!_

Jabor's eyes glittered. "Last chance, Commander."

And the garrison commander finally caved in. "Very well, Representative Jabor," he said with a deep sigh, as if he had just fought some great battle and lost. "If you would follow me and wait for the transports to load the explosives, we should arrive at Cindra within the hour. And you will have your look."

Jabor gave a small smile as he stepped forward with Rellius towards the waiting speeder. "Thank you for the hospitality, Commander. I look forward to this view, more than you know."

"Believe me," Vash said darkly. " _I_ know you do."


	8. Ep 8: South Tip Part One

**Lysander "Cody" Folen**

 **XXX**

He grabbed Magnus by the arm holding the glow rod, the only piece he could readily grab. It was just in time too: as Gallis's older brother lunged forward to grab the slackening cord, the piece of the rock they were standing on broke under him and he, too, began to fall forward. He grasped his amr in a death grip, using all his strength to hold him in place.

"Magnus!" Cecilia grabbed the Imperial adorer by his arm and also pulled. Kennex and Adelia quickly joined in, and they pulled Magnus back onto the ledge, despite him furiously still trying to lean forward, as if that might somehow help Gallis.

By the time the incident over, the grappling gun's line had totally slackened, and the cord ran down the stone limply like trailing black liquid.

"G-Gallis?" Kennex called weakly down.

"Gallis!" Magnus said in a dangerously loud voice, making Adelia hit him over the head. " _Gallis_!"

"Do you want everyone from here to Coruscant to hear us?" Kennex hissed. "Don't shout!"

Magnus looked about ready to hit Kennex, but Lysander was spared the show by a feeble, "M'm alright, guys," coming somewhere down below them.

Everyone scrambled to the rock edge. "Are you alright?" Adelia asked down.

"Think my arm's broken," Gallis's disembodied voice came from the darkness. He sounded to be in great pain, and Lysander began to scurry down below, his glow rod holding the way. He had seen what a broken arm looked like, during some of Vash's troop training exercises. They would need to make a splint before it swelled.

Magnus followed close behind, and then everyone was scrambling down the slope. "Gallis, make a sound, we can't hear you," Adelia said, her glow rod flashing around.

"M'm here." Lysander flashed his glow rod around; it fell on a pair of feet. He rushed forward, and found the rest of the boy's body. He was cradling his right arm, and he could see the purple spots on the white skin starting to appear. Blood poured from a small rip in his forehead, as well as another wound on his leg, where the cloth was also torn from where he must've tumbled.

"He's over here," Lysander whispered, his voice still echoing in the depths of the mine. They weren't even that deep yet. The others came over, Magnus taking the spot closest to his brother while Adelia went to the other side of his head.

The Duro put a hand to the cut on his forehead, and Gallis whined, "I said my arm's broken, not that I have a fever," he whined.

"You're bleeding," she retorted, tearing her shirt.

"I am?" he said dimly. "Didn't even realize… ah…" His hand tightened around his broken arm.

"It's broken, alright," Adelia said tensely. "We need to make a support for it. Can someone rip off their arm sleeve?"

Lysander didn't hesitate. "Someone have something sharp?" Cecilia and Magnus looked at Kennex, and the Firerreo's eyes narrowed. "No."

" _Kennex_."

"Fine, fine." He pulled out the sharp lockpick from Seron, shoved it into Lysander's hands. "Don't break it, Cody."

No one laughed at the jest. Lysander couldn't believe he was still trying to insult when Gallis was looking like he was dying. Magnus was staring intently at him as if silently communicating, while Adelia was pulling out mountain herbs she used to treat wounds, putting them in her own torn cloth.

"Alright, Gallis, this is going to hurt," he said as he finally cut away his arm sleeve- _Dad's gonna kill me_ \- and held it below the broken arm. "Someone give him something to bite on."

Magnus held his own sleeve open, and Gallis hesitantly bit into it. He lifted the broken arm, and his teeth gnashed ferociously onto the cloth, an animal-like sound coming from deep in his throat. It echoed eerily in the mine, like some great predator was stalking them.

He made the split as quickly as he could while Gallis bit into the cloth, finally tying the knot. At the same time, Adelia pulled away the herb-infused cloth from his forehead, which was crusted over with dried, but no longer flowing, blood.

"That should do it," Lysander said. _Hopefully, that's the first time since I made one myself. Thanks for showing me that, Uncle Vash._ Cecilia grabbed his left arm, and Magnus behind his right shoulder. Together, they pulled and pushed him to his feet, where he shakily stood.

"Better?" Kennex said, finally sounding concerned.

"Yeah, loads better. Thanks, Lysander." He still sounded weak and dizzy, but Magnus put a hand under his good armpit to support him. It would have to do, for now.

With the incident over, Cecilia cleared her throat impatiently. "Come on, we have a ship to find!" she said with thinly veiled excitement. Her glow rod illuminated her lovely face in a low green glow. "Let's hurry up!"

"You guys rush ahead, I'll walk slower with Gallis," Magnus said quietly.

"And the four of us go ahead?" Lysander shook his head. "That doesn't seem right, we should equally divide ourselves, just in case something goes wrong. I'll stay behind with you guys." _Just not with Kennex._

Kennex twisted his lip. "Not a bad idea, Commander Cody, I was about to say it myself."

 _Sure you were._ "So I'll stay with them?" Lysander forced out.

The bastard shrugged. "Sure, sure. Adelia, Cecilia, let's find this ship. You three just follow the light of our glow rods as best you can, alright?"

Magnus nodded for them, and the two girls and Kennex sauntered off deeper into the darkened mine.

 **XXX**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

He checked the chronometer on Vash's desk. The transports were late, and he was getting anxious. He uncrossed his legs and took them off the desk, then sighed and put them back on. _Five more minutes. Just five. Come on, Vash…_

The flaps of the tent opened, and Vash's stormtrooper sergeant entered. "Chief Folen, the transports are arriving with Commander Vash."

" _With?"_ he didn't mean for his voice to go high-pitched, but it did. His hand reflexively closed around the hilt of his blaster pistol, his go-to place when he was feeling nervous. "Are you certain it's his speeder?" he asked, praying in his mind.

"It's him," the stormtrooper reported, his rifle clutched to his chest. "And the forward post reported he had two guests: Governor-General Rellius and an unidentified officer.

 _No. No, no, you said you could stall them!_ He went past the stormtrooper without a reply, and the digitized voice called after him. He paid it no heed, however. What was going on?

The three speeders, Vash's military green and two bulky gray ones were in the hangar. Vash himself stood stiffly by who he guessed were his two passengers. He had seen Rellius only once many years ago when he had first come to Ommas to escape the war, and he had only been an ambitious moff's assistant then. He remained rail thin, gaunt, and graying.

But the other, even from here, seemed unsettling. His middle-aged face was looking all around the hangar, from the patiently waiting stormtrooper guards, to the parked AT-ST walkers, to the half-heartedly strung up lighting.

To Folen himself. His mouth moved as he pointed, and Rellius and Vash turned to him.

"Ah, this must be Cindra's police chief," Rellius said boisterously, walking over to where Folen stood at the hangar entrance. Folen remained steadfast, stealing questioning looks at Vash. But his friend remained tight-lipped, as anxious as he no doubt felt. How were they going to destroy the plastoid ore now? What even were these two doing here?

The stranger somehow seemed to answer all his questions just by looking at him. "My name is Jabor, Chief Folen," he said with a cultured air. "I've come to inspect Ommas as a part of a system-survey to decide whether the Argos Alignment deserves an alliance with… the Republic." He cocked his head. "Judging by your face, you weren't expecting us, despite Cindra being the logical choice to see after Legio. Why's that?"

 _Where, what? An alliance with the New Republic? Why now?_ "Just… was not expecting such high-level dignitaries," he said as calmly as he could, some of the prose he had been taught at the Arkanis Academy kicking in. "The presence of my Governor _and_ a representative of the New Republic certainly overwhelmed me, especially when Vash had told me we would be the last town visited!"

"Indeed?" Jabor turned to Vash. "Poor planning on your part it seems, Commander. You hired this man yourself, Rellius?"

"He is one of the Alignment's oldest combat specialists," the Governor said intricately, as if trying to weave a spell on the other. "He is incredibly well trained, as are the others. The Academy on Argos, in fact-"

"What are the explosives for, Chief Folen?" Jabor looked intently at him again. Pacem decided he didn't like that look. It was an overly curious gaze on an otherwise emotionless face.

Rellius seemed impatient. "Come now, Jabor, let's just the view of the town then be on our way," he sniffed, trying again to weave a verbal spell. There is only limited time to visit all the planets in the Alignment, let alone all the settlements on Ommas-"

"Yet I want to know why they need to the proton warheads. Pardon my curiosity, Govenror, but if your men are hiding something- if _you_ are- then this deal is over."

The Governor made a shocked sound, then turned angrily to Folen. "Well? Out with it!" Vash gave the tiniest of nods that the representative didn't seem to notice, but Folen wasn't about to let them win. If they could believe the simple lie, perhaps it would be enough to satisfy their inquisitive intruder. "A ship crashed in the mine, and we need to demolish it so the miner's can return to work," he said confidently, his eyes not moving from Jabor's own. Vash froze, his eyes aghast.

"Interesting. A reasonable use for them, after all."

 _Thank the stars._ "Sorry if it seemed otherwise," Folen said apologetically. _Now just get out of this blasted hangar._

"But Cindra doesn't have a landing port, does it? That's why the shuttle took us to Legio. So what is a ship doing out here?" He turned to Governor-General Rellius, who was looking rather confused by the entire exchange. _He only wants this deal, he doesn't even care about the mine! Come on, Rellius, push him away from this-_

"I wish to see this ship in your mine, Commander," Jabor said politely, turning to the armored commander. "If you would please direct me?"

Vash gave Folen a hopeless look, then said dully, "Of course, Representative Jabor. If you'll come this way…?"

 **XXX**

 **Kennex**

Their glow sticks bathed a large enough path that their feet could confidently walk on the wooden planks that fed past the jagged stone walls. Abandoned picks, drillers, and other machines were scattered about where people had left them to remember their spot in the mines.

He had never been inside, nor ever worked. Vash had forbidden any children to work in the mines out of decency, but even when he had finally aged into working age, still it had not attracted him. _A fool works, a smarter man finds ways to live on their work._

Still, it unnerved him. They had always broken into homes and stores, but never to directly contend with Vash. It was one thing to mock the commander behind his back, but…

" _You're breaking into an Imperial-closed area. You know that, right? I doubt they'll shoot to kill..."_

The pistol shook in his pocket as they walked down the slopes, constantly reminding him of its presence. Why had Seron sought the need to give it to them? " _I need you want to protect the others…"_ Well, of course he did, but he didn't want to shoot stormtroopers to do it! Ending up in Folen's little jail would be the death of him, and his leadership over the group…

"Do you see anything yet?" Adelia whispered. "We've been walking for quite a while."

"Nothing yet," Cecilia said, sounding annoyingly impatient, as if not finding it at this very moment might spoil her whole day. "It must be pretty small for us to not- _what's that noise?"_

"Elevator," Kennex said grimly, sounding surprisingly calm to himself. "Someone from upstairs must be coming down… to see the ship."

"Wha- then we need to find it now!" Adelia cried. "Come on, split up. They'll see our glow rods when they come down, we need to use what light we can! And wheres Gallis, Magnus, and Lysander?"

Kennex turned around; there were no lights. Had they fallen too far behind? Cecilia's speed had forced him and Adelia to keep up. They were split up from the other's entirely now, with Vash suddenly coming down on their heads-

The pistol's weight returned. "Find the ship," he hissed between his needle molars. "We can hide inside, there's no cover in this wide open space-" His feet skittered and crunched on the rock as he held one hand before him like a blind man, searching for cold, reassuring metal. But all he found was more stone walls, more wooden support pillars, more mining tools-

 _Come on, come on!_ His nerves were frying; Vash would arrest him, he was old enough for the jail. The others would be leaderless and helpless without him-

Bright lights, searchlights. The AT-ST's were at the edges of the mine, shining down upon them. He thought he could hear voices echoing down the mine-

"Kennex? Kennex, what do we do?"

The elevator slammed to the bottom, and the metal creaking of the doors was like the tolling bell of death. Without any logical thinking, he pulled out the pistol-

 **XXX**

 **Gallis Iscander**

Everything was warm, fuzzy. The upper half of his vision was a dark, dark red that he ust couldn't describe if it was supposed to be there or not. Everything felt off to him. The only things he could feel was Magnus supporting him under the arm.

And then, bright lights everywhere, and being flung against a stone outcropping. Lysander was peaking up, above, looking terrified. "They're coming down- I see six in the elevator. Two stormtroopers, four others…" He sounded strange. "And I think my father…"

Magnus didn't seem to be paying attention to what he was saying. He was trying to get Gallis to his feet, but Gallis didn't feel like moving. His arm still hurt, but not as much. Instead, his mind felt fluttering, dainty. Something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what…?

"He's delirious," Magnus snarled. "Something in Adelia's meds, were they the wrong ones?"

"I don't know, but we need to hide. If they find us down here-"

"It won't happen-"

A jarring sound. Magnus swore viciously. "They've reached the ground floor. Where did the other's go?"

"Deeper, I can't see them!" Lysander crouched in front of Gallis. "Come on, Gallis, get up! We need to move, we can't let them find us!"

Suddenly,a new voice shattered the bliss he was feeling. Digitized, familiar, and closer than it should have been. "Heat signatures in the mine. We have intruders inside."

"Intruders?" an unfamiliar voice said. "What poor security you have, Vash. Troopers, ready your weapons. Clear out whoever's down here."

 **XXX**

 **Kennex**

He peered above the ledge. There were two stormtroopers, creeping down the wooden blanks like sentinels in the search beams of the AT-ST's above. Four more were behind them, keeping their distance. Vash, Chief Folen, and two well-dressed Imperials. Both Folen and Vahs held their pistols out, dumbstruck looks on their faces. It would have been funny, if the situation wasn't so serious-

"I see them!" Adelia whispered madly, pulling his shoulder. He followed her blue finger: Gallis, Magnus, and Cody were huddled under a stone outcropping. And the stormtroopers were getting very close- a few more steps and it would just take a turn and they would be seen.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled up the blaster pistol. The stormtroopers didn't see him, they were busy focusing on the other's position-

"Kennex, what are you doing!"

The stormtroopers turned towards Cecilia's thunderstruck voice, and he pulled the trigger.

 **XXX**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

The first stormtrooper took the blue bolt straight to the chest, and collapsed to the ground. The other had enough sense to swerve to the side, firing a reflexive shot at the intruder.

He blinked. He recognized that coppery, wild hair; there was no one else in Ommas with it.

"Stop- don't shoot!" he shouted. "Kennex-!"

Behind them, a bright blue light tore between him and Vash and struck the stone right in front of the Firerreo youth, spraying him and the two girls behind him-

 **XXX**

 **Lysander "Cody" Folen**

Dad shouted Kennex's name, but the unfamiliar man in the dark tunic didn't seem to care. He shot from his own blaster pistol at Kennex, who disappeared behind a cloud of steam.

But he recovered, fired back ( _where did he get a blaster?)_. The second stormtrooper returned fire, the shot going above both their heads.

"Shoot them!" the unfamiliar man commanded, his authoritative tone scaring Lysander, reminding him of when his father had first sent him to train with Vash when Mom had died-

Kennex shot again while Cecilia screamed. And this time, Dad brought his pistol up, and Lysander could see him aiming down the sights at Kennex. He seemed oblvious, focusing on shooting the stormtrooper-

" _DAD!"_ he shouted, appearing from under their little hiding spot. The fourth man who he recognized from old holos as Governor-General Rellius recoiled, while the unidentified man swung his pistol to bear at the newcomer-

"L- _Lysander?"_ he said, dumbstruck, his pistol still pointing at Kennex's direction but no longer looking down the sites. His face was a deathly pale, looking at his son as if he had seen a ghost.

And then Kennex's next shot took him down in the shoulder, and he spun to the floor.


	9. Ep 9: South Tip Part Two

**XXX**

 **Magnus Iscander**

The man in the black tunic watched as Chief Folen went down with an expressionless face, then aimed down the sites and shot at Kennex, hitting him square in the forehead. Even from here, he could see their leader go flying backward, but his head did not pop with the sudden energy influx, and Magnus breathed. _Stun shot. And thank the stars Kennex was also using stun._ He glared at the second stormtrooper, who had run to his fallen comrade now that he saw Kennex was subdued. _But he shot to kill, the little fool. Don't you people know how to do anything right?_

Vash ran forward, holding both his hands in the air and standing between the strange newcomer who had shot Kennex, and the others. "ENOUGH!" he shouted. "Enough! Everyone, come out here, _now_."

There was little else to do. Magnus pulled an unwilling Gallis to his feet, then nudged Lysander forward. The other didn't seem to want to move, but instead allowed himself to be pushed along.

Cecilia and Adelia were dragging Kennex over as well, who had a giant lump on his forehead. Vash looked at them, his eyes blazing with a fire Magnus had never seen, which somehow filled with respect for the Commander.

"What were you all doing down here," he said quietly as they all came forward. No one said anything; they were all too frightened to. They had never seen a blaster fight before, _never_. Not even Magnus, who had only watched holos.

To his surprise, however, Lysander spoke first. "Is my father gonna be alright?" he said in a sort of stunned tone.

"Your _father_?" The man in the black tunic looked at him curiously. "Yes, I see the resemblance of the eyes-"

"Your dad's gonna be okay, Cody. It was only a stun shot to the arm, he'll be up in a minute." Vash sounded surprisingly controlled, but in a flash that was over. " _Now tell me what you were doing down here with these KIDS!"_

Lysander drew himself up, though he looked close to tears. "We came to see the ship that was down here," he said defensively. "The orphans want off this miserable rock, and I wanted to help-"

"You wanted to help." Vash actually laughed. "You wanted to help. To _help._ So you broke past my garrison perimeter and into the mine despite the strict orders not to? You disobeyed me, your father, your _government_ -"

Lysander held his head up high. "It was the right thing to do-"

Vash struck him hard across the face, and Adelia gasped. The newcomer watched intensely while the other in the highly decorated uniform watched, looking bored. He looked a lot like Governor-General Rellius from the old propaganda posters…

"You _idiot_ boy. Did I not tell you to come down here? Did _none_ of you heed my warnings? And how the devil did Kennex get armed? Did he even know how to properly use that pistol? Did he know it would be on stun, or did he only guess and shoot a standing soldier? You children are all coming with me Chief Folen's station for a briefing, and consequences will be-"

"I think not."

Vash's face, if possible, went redder with anger. "Excuse me?"

"I mean to say I do not think these children are at fault." The strange man looked at Vash with intelligent eyes; Magnus found himself curiously drawn to him. He held himself like the Commander, but with an undefinable aura of command. _We don't want to mess with this guy_. "If anything, _you_ are responsible for this debacle, Commander Vash."

"C-come now, Jabor!" said the man who looked like Rellius, finally speaking. "These stupid children are obviously at fault-"

"Are they?" the man called Jabor said curiously. "Are they really? Shouldn't Commander Vash's security been good enough to keep them out? How were six _children_ able to penetrate an entire Imperial garrison? There seems to be quite a number of flaws in your garrison commander, here, Rellius…"

Vash's face color changed to the color of rusted iron. "Are you doubting my ability to lead the Imperial Garrison here, Representative Jabor?"

"I am," the other said with a shocking smile. Magnus stole a look down the line: Cecilia and Adelia were watching with baited breath, Kennex slack in their grasp. Gallis even seemed to be listening more attentively now. Lysander had eyes only for his father, who was beginning to stir.

"What's more troubling to me, however, is not even your ineptitude as a commander," Jabor said loftily. "Why, the entire reason we are down here- why these children are down here, as well- does not even seem to be present." He turned to Rellius. "Tell me, Governor-General, do you see any sort of spaceship down here?"

"I do not," he said in a confused tone. "Vash? What is this, where is the ship?"

Vash was silent for a long time. "There is no ship in the South Tip Mine, Governor-General."

Cecilia moaned softly and Magnus felt his heart stop beating for a moment. Jabor's eyes glinted in the light of the walker's searchlights. "Is that right? No ship? You mean to say you lied to us, Commander?"

Vash sighed. "I crafted the idea of a ship having crashed in the mine to deter the miner's from investigating."

"What?" Chief Folen had gotten up, rubbing his shoulder. "Vash-"

"Chief Pacem had no part in the deception; I duped him as I did the stormtroopers under my command, as well as the townspeople of Cindra." He turned to the Governor, and Magnus had the impression that under his own disbelief at the situation, Vash was looking very afraid. "The reason I did so, Governor-General was…" He seemed to choke a moment, and Magnus thought his eyes went to Folen for a moment. "I- I was- keeping a special gift for the Governor, to properly present it Governor Rellius." He bowed low before his leader, armor clanking as he did so. "But it seems things have gotten out of hand. So, allow me to present it to you firsthand, Your Excellency, that I have discovered in the mines of South Tip an abundant supply of plastoid ore."

Rellius eyes practically glowed. He looked from Vash, to Folen's dumbstruck expression, to Jabor's frozen smile, even to the faces of the caught orphans. He seemed to be thinking it was some sort of joke, but when no one broke this belief, his face broke into an exhilarated smile. "Plastoid, you say?" he said in wonder. "My word, Vash- you must be pulling a fast one-"

" _Plastoid ore?_ " The triumphant feeling was absent from Jabor now. A deadly seriousness had taken over his voice. " _That's_ what you were concealing?"

And Magnus could hardly blame his reaction. The other's didn't seem to understand; Adelia and Cecilia were looking relieved, in fact, that the adult's attention had gone elsewhere.

He supposed he alone knew what it was. Looking at Jabor, he said, "You want it for the stormtrooper armor, don't you, sir? It's become a pretty rare material, I've heard."

Jabor seemed to remember his presence. He stared at Magnus for a moment. "You're right, boy," he said slowly, regaining some authority. "Plastoid is the key component in what makes stormtrooper gear able to spread energy throughout the armor. And you're right, it's become rather rare since the days of Endor, what with the New Republic shutting down all previous mines for it…"

"We must begin excavation at once!" Rellius said, clapping his hands together like a child obtaining chocolate. "This can be the beginning of a rejuvenated stormtrooper corps!"

Magnus thought that both Vash and a now standing Folen looked a little sick at the words, but Jabor had an almost amused smile on his face again. "Indeed?" he said, looking to the remaining stormtrooper, who had helped his friend to his feet. "We will need to discuss this in length, Governor-General. These children, however, ought to be excused now."

"Excused?" Vash echoed, finding his voice again. "They've just been caught inside a high-security zone, shooting at Imperial troops-"

"A zone that should never have existed, since it seems to have only been made as a way to ensure a promotion from the Governor," Jabor said scathingly. "It was your lie, in fact, that duped the children into coming down here in the first place." Jabor turned to Lysander, seemingly taking him as their leader. "Take the elevator up with your friends, boy. Have this stormtrooper escort you-"

Lysander looked disconcerted, and Magnus easily saw why. "Lysander, you stay here," Chief Folen said gratingly. "The rest of you kids get out, just… out."

They left in a rush, not giving Lysander any look for fear of staying any longer might antagonize Jabor. But nobody stopped them as they got in the lift. The stormtrooper and his friend came in last and they hit the switch. Kennex and Gallis slowly awoke from the jarring rise; Magnus had his eyes trained on the four adults still in the beams of the walkers, talking animatedly.

"I can't believe we got out of there," Gallis whispered to him, not sounding at all bothered by his arm. "That Jabor guy actually managed to talk down Vash. I can't believe it."

"Neither can I."

"What's gonna happen now?"

Magnus looked at the others. Kennex was in a peaceful rest, though the lump on his forehead seemed to pulse unpleasantly. Adelia gently dabbed it with more herbs, trying to reduce the swelling. Cecilia stood still as a statue, uncommonly pale and her blueberry hair almost lifeless. No doubt she was still taking in Vash's lie, that the great journey to the stars would not be happening yet.

If ever. _If anything, we're more stuck here than we ever have before._ He looked down at his thin younger brother. "I don't know," he said simply. "But we'll figure something out. We always do."

"Then why do I feel like this time it's different? I feel like… something more happened here."

He felt it to. It was like a wet blanket had been placed over him, a lot like those strange feelings he had, or when he and Gallis somehow seemed to read each other's mind. It worried him.

But he wouldn't let Gallis know he was worried. "Don't worry about it," he said quietly. "Nothing will change, we'll continue on like before. Nothing is set in stone. _Nothing_."

 **XXX**

 **Well this is what would be considered the season midway point if this was like a sh. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, there is much more to come, leave a review or follow or whatever you bloody like so I know you're liking it. I won't be uploading until June because my finals are this week and, y'know, kinda gotta succeed in life somehow.**

 **Thanks for reading, hope to see you around.**


	10. Ep 10: Newcomers

**Four Months Later**

 **Kennex**

They lied about their little hovel, the sun piercing through the thin windows. The sounds of the outside called to them, voices of all kinds of dialects and sexes coming through along with the light. It was like some sort of song, urging them to come out and enjoy the livelihood.

It should have been normal. Perhaps it was, on some other planet Kennex had no idea existed. But on Ommas, it had never happened.

And it was why they remained inside.

Something slammed against their ancient wooden door, creating probably another crack. The sounds of jeering came from outside; he realized what he thought to have been a song for calling them outside was nothing more than indescribable mob mentality. Fed up, Kennex leaned off the cool counter he had been sitting on and angrily went to the door. Before he could open it, however, Adelia caught his arm.

"You know nothing good will come from it," she said almost sadly.

"And maybe if I finally tell them, they'll budge off," he replied smartly. He took his pale arm out of her hand before she could reply, and with a theatrical waving off to the others, he opened their door.

Two bodies immediately spilled in, wrapped in an intense fist fight. Despite having arrived only two months ago, Kennex already knew them more than he wanted. Bodey the human and Tusk the Trandoshan. Apparently they were rarely seen outside their home system, but Kennex hardly cared about that.

" _Get out of our home!"_ he roared, putting on his largest presence. But it did little more than to perhaps increase the frantic calls for fight right outside the door; many more faces peered through the open doorway, watching as the two beings hit each other in a warped mess.

The rest of his family had gotten out of their seats, clearly disgusted. Gallis alone looked concerned, no doubt not wanting them to hurt each other at all like the pacifist he was. It was a wonder he hadn't seen him pull out that blaster back in the mine…

Magnus moved forward and surprisingly managed to pull the adult Bodey off Tusk. "You want us to bring Chief Folen down on you!?" he shouted. "We told you we don't want you round he-"

Bodey replied by smashing a drunken fist in Magnus's face, and the crowd roared with delight. Kennex gave the others an exasperated look; Adelia gave him a flat look with the obvious ' _I told you not to_ ' look on it.

The Trandoshan was up, as equally drunk as his opponent, and swayed towards him with his reptilian claws splayed. He swiped and missed, falling to the ground again.

It would have been funny, had it not been in their own home.

Kennex dug his sharp fingernails into Bodey's shoulder, making the man yell in pain and he flailed helplessly. The Firrerreo lugged the large man to the door then finally tossed him outside. Right behind him, the others had taken his lead and had rolled the Trandoshan out of their hut. The other small mining huts that had sprung up around them covered them in shadow from the hot sun.

One of the people in the crowd, a Sullustan, spat a disgusting piece of saliva at him. " _Nyu seyu nara!"_

"Get out of here," Kennex seethed, not understanding a word. Basic had always been the language of Ommas, namely because it was the only thing everyone could speak. But since hundreds of miners had funneled into Cindra, the frustration of alien languages was now a real problem.

The Sullustan probably didn't know what he said either, but regardless he walked away, and most of the crowd dispersed with their fun over. Bodey and Tusk rolled in the ground, trying to find their feet but instead flopping about.

"And stay out," he said, knowing full well they would simply spend their next paycheck on more beer, and the process would repeat. No amount of theatrical spellweaving would keep these… _barbarians_ out of their life. With a sigh, he waved everyone inside, and shut the door to the encampment.

 **XXX**

 **Adelia**

They had learned night was ironically the quietest time with their new neighbors. After spending several hours digging up the plastoid, the newcomers were often too tired to do anything else. They would slouch back into their " overnight shacks," - what Kennex had dubbed them for how they suddenly seemed to spring up while they slept- and often just sleep.

Vash's garrison also liked to patrol at this time. Adelia couldn't even pick her flowers and herbs anymore, because she couldn't grasp the new schedule. There were simply not enough stormtroopers to cover the whole town of over a thousand, and thus Vash had to give sporadic patrol times so crime couldn't develop at certain times in the day.

It infuriated her, and all of them. No help when the miner's started having their little betting fights, but of course they arrived when there was nothing going on.

Quietly, they snuck out of their hut, leaving behind all their devices. She made sure to bring her mother's cleavers; this was the season the Moonless Rubies grew, a delicate red flower that had to be cut, not pulled, so that the precious juices in the stems wouldn't spill out. They were good for bruises, which were becoming common amongst them.

The clanking of one of the AT-ST's could be heard a few yards away, along with some idle trooper talk. "Run quietly," Kennex whispered, beckoning with a hand. Adelia took to the middle, so that her glowing orange eyes might be shielded by the other's more blendable bodies.

The secrecy wasn't needed, really. The stormtrooper's liked to stay to the center, where Vash had already broken four underground spice operations in the huts there. But the rings grew like weeds, and so his men stayed close to it.

 _The miner's grow like weeds,_ she thought with some amusement, though there was nothing very amusing about it at all. Precious little was funny these days; Kennex snapped at the smallest things, Magnus gotten infinitely more serious, Gallis seemed to have grown timid, and Cecilia depressed.

And they had not heard from Lysander since the events at South Tip.

She hoped he was okay. Kennex often broke the silence in their hut with praises of how quiet things had become with him gone. But the silence often stretched too long because of that missing member. Whether the others had liked him or not, Lysander had filled a niche, and with him gone no one was ready to replace it.

They would often see Chief Folen with the troopers, looking tired but alert. They would often stare him down, and he at them. Sometimes, the officer's would go to his shoulder where the old wound was, and his eyes would seem to target Kennex, but the Firerreo would look back unfazed. _Where is Lysander?_ She thought desperately at him. _What did you do to him? Where is our brother...?_

They raced up the rolling hills that fed into the valley the Moonless Pool lied in. None of the miners or soldiers seemed to have discovered it, and thus had become an even greater place of refuge than before. Sometimes they would huddle up and things would be like before, talking and joking, as if the water washed away their queasiness.

"Race you to the top." She turned; Gallis gave her a small smile, keeping pace with her.

It was so childish for a moment she thought to laugh at him. But then she took in his face, how young it was. Then she remembered _she_ wasn't even eighteen yet, and her body tensed. _We're too young to be going through this._

Gallis hesitated. "It's okay if you don't, I-"

"See you at the top!" she said, then bolted. She heard him thudding after him, with Magnus quickly placing a bet on his brother and Kennex and Cecilia calling for her to keep the lead.

She ran, outrunning her troubles for the moment as the wind slapped against her bright blue face.

 **XXX**

 **Cecilia**

The dark blue waters battled with the bright green grass on the hillside. The levels had risen very quickly, ever since the Imperials had started mining the glaciers in the higher mountains for water for the miners. A small, icy river now fed into the pool constantly. Tonight, the waters were too cool for even Magnus and Kennex to brave.

She sat at the water's edge while the others threw flat stones, trying to hop them, or large rocks to see who could get if further.

Cecilia tried to sound excited like she had when Gallis and Adelia had raced, but couldn't even do that. Down here, unmoving, the stars of the infinity hung much clearer.

 _If the ship had been there, I could be counting them instead of how many times Gallis loses._

Part of her wanted to believe that Vash and Folen had simply moved the ship out of the area, and were still hiding it somewhere. The other half knew that there had never been a ghost of a chance. It was that half that made her watch the starry sky tonight, regretting having been fooled so easily…

Adelia sat down next to her, tired of throwing or maybe being an annoying mother. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah. I think."

"You think?"

She brushed some hair from her face, lied flat against the grass. "We're we close to getting up there, do you think? Like just _imagine_ if a ship had been there."

"There was never a chance. That's such old news, Cecilia, come on! I always see you and Magnus watching the transport ships come and go, but Is that really what's bothering you right now?"

"But don't you just _think_ of what could've happened?"

Adelia hesitated. _She thinks I'm crazy or something. She doesn't care like the rest of us_. "Don't you want to find your mom?" she asked instead. "Out there, in the Alignment somewhere?"

"I do everyday." The female Duro twirled a thin green flower in her hand, with petals the color of blood. Both their eyes seemed to fixate on it as they spoke. "Even without knowing about the ship at all, I would still wish and think about it, that one day I can find her… show her how much I've done and learned." She looked at Cecilia with a small smile. "Show her my new family, maybe."

Reluctantly, she smiled back. _She doesn't care like she should._ She looked over at Magnus, who was outperforming his brother by a long shot. He sometimes came to watch the Imperial transport ships with her. But he did it only to see what other Imperials were like, not for the hope they represented. _Not even Magnus cares like me._ "I'm going to get to the stars and see everything," she declared, mostly to herself. "I won't let Vash or Folen or anyone from the Empire stop me."

With the words, a great weight seemed to leave her shoulders, and Adelia laughed. "Feel better getting that off your chest?"

 _Not really. Not until I make it happen_. "Yeah," she said sweetly. "Thanks for talking with me, Adelia, I feel better now." She brushed herself down, went up the water's edge to put her feet in. They chilled instantly, but it jolted her into a fully awakened state. She looked up at the lights above again. _Nothing is going to stop me from getting out there._

Kennex called out: "Alright guys, let's head it home and get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll need to get more food from our wonderful neighbors."

 **XXX**

 **Magnus Iscander**

"What are you reading?"

He pulled it down from his face. Kennex stood there, looking calm for once. The day had started in good spirits, at any rate. The miners had gone to South Tip, the patrols following them. The doors would be locked, but they would find their way in. Kennex seemed to find relief in raiding days like these.

"It's the _Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide_. It was written by the old Joint Chiefs of Staff to document the Empire's philosophy, tactics, and history."

"How do you find this stuff interesting? Where did you even learn to read?"

Magnus frowned. "I taught myself. And it's good to understand one's nation's history."

Kennex laughed. "This is the Argos Alignment, not the Galactic Empire. The Empire is long dead- I would know, I was born the year it was defeated!" He laughed again and shook his head, much to Magnus's charingin.

"The Alignment is the Empire's successor state," he said stiffly. _You had to ask this, now? During one of the few chances we have for actual silence and I can read?_ The miner's were often so obnoxious, or the clanking of the AT-ST's so loud he could hardly concentrate on the books. It had grown infuriating to him now. He swallowed down his anger. _Let's try not to upset the little man_. "In case you didn't notice, we have stormtroopers and All Terrain- Scout Transports walking around us most the time."

"Why don't you just join the garrison, then? Bet you a loaf of bread you'd know more than even crackpot Vash."

Silently, he agreed. He doubted _anyone_ on this rugged planet cared as much for what the Empire had been as much as he did. Most the troopers were conscripts, anyways, not even having proper training. The academy on Argos had been developed _after_ Jakku, so the proper protocols weren't even installed. It was whatever the Alignment wanted the troopers to know, and that was it.

He set the book down and crossed his arms, no longer caring if he made Kennex upset. "You're the son of two Rebels, so of course you don't care like you should," he said decisively.

The other's left eye twitched. "Who cares," he jeered. He pushed Magnus aside, exposing the other books stacked there. "Look at all these: _The Imperial Dossier of Battleships, Imperial Vehicle Maintenance Handbook-_ ha! Even a _Stories of Glory: Children's Version_?"

"I used to read that to Gallis when we were first starting out on our own," Magnus snapped, now irritated. "You hate the Imperials so much, why don't you just go shooting at them again?"

Kennex's face went the color of sour milk. His hand dipped into his worn cloak, and for a moment Magnus thought he would pull out that very pistol. _Let him_ , he goaded silently. _Go on, I'll take you down faster than you can blink…_

But it came out with Seron's lockpick, which they would be using in only a few minutes. "You can stay behind this time," the other said between his needle teeth.

"For what?" Magnus laughed. "Winning your insult game?"

"For pissing me off." He stalked away to the couches, where the others were talking excitedly about the coming break-in.

Magnus stared at the other's back. _He's such an uptight little git_ , he thought darkly. _Thinks he's such a hotshot because he shot back at the stormtroopers. Yeah, what a hero… you're lucky Vash didn't kill you on the spot like a_ real _Imperial commander._

Clucking his tongue, he hoisted his book back up and went back to reading the perfect squad mentality and discipline as described by General Tagge.

 **XXX**

 **Gallis Iscander**

In broad daylight, Kennex fiddled with the homemade lock placed on Bodey's home. No doubt the other was wanting to take his revenge for the incident yesterday.

Gallis did to. It felt good to finally be getting back at all these newcomers who had pushed them around. He still remembered when the first dozen huts had sprung up literally overnight. Kennex had led them over to one of them, asking who they were, why they were here. The man, a brutish thing with muscles large from years of mining, had instead asked what a bunch of _children_ were doing in the new mining encampment.

Well, they all knew how being referred to as a child affected Kennex. The day ended with the Firerreo tending to a bloody nose, and Gallis and Magnus taking several punishing blows trying to end the bigger man's beating.

And Vash had done nothing. He seemed to no longer care about the robberies, or even them after their clash in South Tip Mine. He was always meeting with the Governor-General now, who had created an outpost in one of the closer mountains. The garrison Commander looked sicker and sicker everyday, as if each day ate away at his sanity.

 _Serves you right_ , Gallis had initially thought. But now, he felt only pity for the man. He had only been doing his job, trying to keep them out of the mine.

At least he and Magnus hadn't needed to confront the group about their dilemma. That would still be for another day-

" _...something more happened here…"_

 _Not now, come on we're breaking into this guy's place for star's sake!_ He shook his head, shaking the echo away and refocusing on the matter at hand.

Magnus had stayed behind; Kennex had told them with some satisfaction that his brother had questioned whether doing Bodey's house was a good idea at all, much to their charingin. Gallis couldn't believe Magnus would say that when he had been injured in the brawl as well, but Kennex had assured him it was just a one time thing, and he would rejoin them for the next raid.

With a jarring click, the lock completely fell off the door. Kennex laughed. "Too stupid to even secure it to the door properly. This guy is just asking to get looted."

"Let's get in and out quick," Adelia said hurriedly, looking up at the Sun as it crossed the sky.

The hut was tiny and reeked of vomit and rotted meats. They scrounged some bread, a handful of dried vegetables, and a wicked looking knife with a curved blade that Gallis was presented with by Kennex. "In case he comes home early," he half-joked, half-warned.

Gallis swung it around a little getting a feel for it with his good arm; not even Adelia's herbs could speed up the process, it was taking it's time healing naturaly. The handle was just rope tied around the hilt, and the blade was maybe six inches long, just a little longer than his middle finger. He imagined himself the villain of one of the old stories Magnus used to read him: a violent Jedi criminal being hunted down by a heroic stormtrooper, seeking to restore order to his town. It was one of his favorites, but not for the reason Magnus liked it. Personally, he thought the Jedi was a pretty cool guy, with a lightsaber and everything!

" _...something more happened here…"_

 _No. Stop this!_ And it did, and he continued to resolutely play with the blade.

But the miner never came home; no one did, until Vash kicked them out of the mine an hour before dark. Then they would lug their goods over to Rellius's estate, where his quartermasters would tally weight and pay accordingly in either credits or food rations.

From there, who knew where they went? A large transport ship would come every two days and cart all it off, and that was it. Cecilia and Magnus sometimes watched the ships, the former remaining silent and the latter complaining that the classic white paint was scorched and peeling, or saying the guards were talking instead of actually doing their jobs.

 _How does he get her attention_ , he thought desperately. _All she wants to do is laugh at me or just ignore me!_

"Gallis!"

"Wha-huh?" He snapped out of his thoughts; he tended to do that more, he thought with some embarrassment. The others were at the door, Cecilia laughing at his airheadedness and Kennex looking impatient.

"We got that Trandoshan to do next, and we need to put this guy's lock back."

"Right, sorry!" He rushed out the small hut, grateful to be out of the smell and his thoughts. He swore to himself not to allow himself to be sucked into his own head anymore. But even as he did, that strange… _feeling_ came back to him, like it did whenever he tried to think to himself.

" _Why do I feel like something more happened here?"_ His own words to Magnus, those six months ago as they left the mine. Sometimes they came to him without him even thinking it, a ghostly whisper that somehow seemed to come from someone else. He hit himself in the side of his head with the butt of the knife, shaking the words away. _What's wrong with me?_

"Stay awake, Gallis," Adelia said kindly behind him. "Won't do any of us good if you fall asleep in their food food storage."

"Just keeping myself alert," he reassured her, then hurried his step, determined to keep watch with all his senses…

" _...something more happened here…"_

 **XXX**

 **Lysander "Cody" Folen**

He put his fork on the empty plate. Completely clean, down to the last gorja fruit and slice of waroo meat. He looked at his father, who looked at him blankly. "Oh, you can be excused now," he said.

"Can I be excused to go outside?"

"No. Wash your dish then you can do anything _inside_ the house."

Lysander gave the room a mocking wave of the army. "Sure, I'll count the cracks in the wall." That wasn't even an exaggeration; he knew all two-hundred and -twenty-two fractures in the marble, born through age. Such was the lack of things to do besides read boring military manuals.

Pacem Folen frowned. "We can go out in the speeder in ten minutes?" he suggested. "Just let me finish eating."

"You mean go to the station for you to work?"

"Asinus is watching over things tonight." His father hesitated, as if unsure of what to say next. He was often like that, every time they spoke, as if some invisible barrier blocked his basic communication. Lysander had grown to detest it, among almost every other characteristic his father had. "I did it so we could go do something tonight," Pacem said finally. "As a family, you know. Your mother always liked us to-"

"Mom wouldn't keep me locked in the house except for school and trips to the garrison!"

"Is that what's bothering you?" His father latched onto the subject awkwardly. "Problems at school? Are some of the kids there bothering you?"

"No! I want to go off on my own for a change- I'm seventeen!"

Father leaned back in his seat, one hand going to his temple. "You're not going out alone, not anymore," he said sternly. "Now that I know you were ditching your classes to go be with those rowdy orphans-"

His anger, not very far from the surface these days, came out of his mouth like a spilled glass. "I'd been ditching classes _before_ I even started hanging out with them! Why did you have to suddenly get so interested!"

Pacem stood up from the table, starting to look angry himself. "I'm your _father_ , and it's my job to protect and keep your interests at heart!" The older Folen licked his lips, then tried speaking more calmly. "You could have _died_ down in the mine- those stormtroopers are trained to kill! You should _never_ have gotten involved in a firefight-

Lysander laughed wildly. "Isn't that what you keep pushing me towards, being in the garrison? Or have you just been dropping me off at Commander Vash's so you wouldn't have to deal with your own son!"

"That's _enough!_ Go- go up to your room, we're not going out at all tonight. And don't you _ever_ go near those kids again, you hear me? You do, and I'll make sure they don't get off as easily as they did before!"

Furious, Lysander went to the sink and threw his dish in, which miraculously didn't shatter. He stormed his way up the stairs into his room. He opened the window to let some fresh air in, but it opened only a foot; his father's precaution after he had tried to sneak out of it the first day after that night in South Tip.

He sighed, his anger fading away. _I'm sorry, guys. I let us all down._ With nothing else to do but wait for his father to roust him out of bed for school tomorrow, he lied down on his bed and drifted into sleep.


	11. Ep 11: The Stars in Our Grasp

**Adelia**

 **XXX**

Gently, she pressed the dampened cloth to Magnus's arm. The young man gave a content sigh. "Thanks, Adelia. That feels a lot better already."

"They're fast acting," she said with satisfaction, grabbing another pinch of the mashed up herb from the lake. "Another few minutes and it'll be like it never happened." She turned to Kennex. "What about you?"

The other touched the nearly invisible bruises left behind by the Trandoshan. "Good as new," he commented. "Perfection like always, Adelia."

She smiled at that. "I'd like to think so."

Cecilia and Gallis watched her pack up her little medkit. Delicately, she placed the herbs, medical needle, and food pills in their respective spots. This was the one she always carried around, with all the essentials for quick healing. Her larger one was under her bed, which contained stems and leaves that could age fine. Her mother's old medical book was there as well, along with her draft notification letter.

She looked at Magnus as he poked at his own fastly disappearing brown spots. _How can you love the Empire?_ She thought to herself. _You of all people should know._

"Do you need to do more…?" She blinked; he was looking back at her now, frowning slightly. She shook her head and smiled again, cracked her blue knuckles. "No, you're free to go my little patient," she said with a fake bow.

He snorted. "Free to walk about the hovel again?" he chortled. He sat down on the floor and put his hand in one of the stolen loaves of bread, munching on it thoughtfully. "I wonder if the guys you robbed will make a report this time."

Cecilia shrugged from her end. "I doubt it. If they tell on us, then Vash will probably find their connections to the spice ring."

" _We_ should report that," Gallis said.

"And then tell Vash we found out by breaking into their hovels?" Kennex snorted. "No, it's just a repetitive cycle of misjustice. But that's what it's always been like on Ommas. We're technically criminals."

They all nodded, but Adelia's throat constricted. _We all know those are just words. It wasn't anything close to how it is now._

Gallis seemed to be thinking the same. "It's the blasted mine," he said angrily. "We should never have gotten involved in that!" He lashed out angrily at a stack of clothes. Adelia looked at him sympathetically; it was unlike him to show any signs of anger, he was so mellow. And this burst seemed to already be reaching the others. All of their tempers had been on edge since the arrival of all the newcomers.

"None of us knew it was sham," Kennex bit out. "Besides, _I_ didn't want to go that day. If we had waited, maybe Vash would have broken the news there wasn't a ship-"

"You don't know that!" Magnus shot back. "You're just trying to cover your own neck!"

"This is what happens when my decisions don't go through," the Firerreo said harshly, his hands closing into fists. "You guys should've just let me sort things out from the get-go."

"We always vote on big decisions like that!" Gallis protested. "This was the first time it's ever gone bad-"

"And the first time was almost our last!" Kennex took a deep breath, but he seemed to be drained mentally. Adelia felt a pang of worry for all of them. The life was leaving their group, being stuck indoors as much as they had. It was either step outside and be questioned by stormtroopers, or stay inside in silence and wait for the return of the rowdy miners.

Cecilia broke the silence. "I wanted to get out into space more than anything," she said quietly but audibly. "But now more than anything, I want to fix the damage we did. I can't help but feel we were somehow responsible."

"That's not true," Gallis said automatically. "The Governor-General and that Jabor guy were going to find it anyway, even if we hadn't been down there-"

"But we were," Adelia said, looking at Cecilia with understanding. She could see, now, what the blue-haired girl was trying to say. "We may not have directly been apart of it, but we were there. We were involved. So maybe we should be the ones to end it."

"End it?" Kennex echoed, already defensive. "What do you mean, end it?"

Cecilia stood up and crossed her arms, looking at all of them. "We blow it up," she said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Everyone gawked at her a moment. "You want to break back _in_?" Magnus asked when he'd found his voice. "Security is going to be tighter than ever with all those sketchy miners around-"

"But it's no longer the garrison base," Gallis pointed out, and Adelia had to wonder if he was thinking logically or just trying to side with Cecilia. "It shouldn't be that hard to get in this time."

Kennex laughed. "You guys have to be joking. Like there's no way we're going back into South Tip!"

"If we get rid of the reason why all these people have come, then they'll go," Cecilia said resolutely, but with a renewed twinkle in her eye. "And those ships that collect people by the hundred? The tickets are cheap. Our present credit supply could buy us passage off!"

 _Oh, no, Cecilia. No, this isn't about doing what's right, is it?_ Adelia clucked her tongue maternally. She looked at Magnus for reinforcement, but he was too busy having a strange staredown with Gallis. "No, it's too dangerous just to try and get off planet again. How are you even planning to destroy the whole mine? Throw some rocks?"

Ceclia glowered at her, but Magnus coughed unexpectedly, drawing eyes to him. "Well… the garrison is understaffed now that they have to patrol much more frequently," he said lightly. "Vash has that shipment of explosives lying around inside it. We could… rob it."

"Okay, no," Kennex said flatly. "Was there something in the food we took? Because these ideas are just crazy! Breaking into the mine was one thing… but breaking into Vash's actual _base_? That's a sector level crime!"

The three of them shrugged. "I think Vash is too occupied keeping control on the miners and the spice ring to pay attention to us anymore," Gallis said thoughtfully.

"Same goes for Chief Folen," Cecilia added. "Come on, we've broken into so many buildings in the past, how is this any different!"

"Are you listening to yourselves?" Kennex spluttered. "Bah- wha- Adelia, help me out here!"

They all looked to her beseechingly, and she looked back. Magnus was thoroughly convinced now, she could tell. It was just her and Kennex not going on this bizarre, nearly selfish venture. Cecilia only wanted to do it because it was another shot off-planet, and while Adelia could hardly blame her for it… was it _really_ in the interest of the group?

 _But you could find Mom._ Reflexively she looked over at her bed, where the large case peeked from under the mat. _Isn't that what we've wanted all along?_

 _But Ommas is our home!_

 _Is it anymore?_ The other voice said disappointedly. _Maybe we'd be better off leaving. And the only way we could do that is getting into the garrison!_

Kennex seemed to be able to read her face, for he quickly said; "No, when we all voted last time, we ended up under fire from stormtroopers," he said swiftly, weaving a verbal spell on them.

But they weren't having any of it. A full blown argument erupted, but Adelia remained silent through it. Kennex grew so furious the whites of his eyes nearly started the glow, and his needle teeth gnashed.

"Fine!" he exploded. "Fine! You want to break in there, be my guest. But you can count _me_ out of this one! I'm not risking my life for this little suicide pact!"

Magnus snorted. "Fine, like you counted me out of this last little raid? Pulling out when things don't go your way?"

Gallis and Cecilia frowned. "Wait, counted you out-?"

But Kennex was almost out the door; Adelia had never seen him so furious. "Whatever, have fun planning your hesit," he said mockingly. He slammed it shut, closing them back in the house during midday.

"He needs to be burn some steam," Adelia said haphazardly, and they all laughed.

"But will you help, Adelia?" Cecilia pondered, leaning in close.

She sighed. "It seems foolish… but family sticks together right? Even though it's possible mistakes." _Even though you and I both know this is no more right than before._

"No mistakes," Cecilia assured her. "Come on, this is gonna be big! Let's get planning!"

 **XXX**

 **Kennex**

The miners were still at South Tip, so his walk was unperturbed. He kicked a loose stone along the dusty path into the original town, silently fuming. The stone was shoved along until he gave it a particularly vicious kick, and it flew and cracked against the wall of the market they had robbed only a few months ago.

 _It went downhill here_ , he thought furiously, feeling his needle teeth grind against each other. _Why? Why did it happen? What's causing this?_

He stood there, bristling for a few minutes. _Damn Vash. And Lysander, too, good riddance he's gone._ A darker thought formed in his head, born of seeking ways to vent his frustration. _He could have been feeding them lies about me_ , he thought, not even believing himself. His body tensed with the sudden thought. _He turned them against me._

 _Proof. I need proof._

Armored footsteps were coming down the main street. He had walked fairly far from the group's shack, into the main road of the town, if it could be called that. Four stormtroopers marched past, giving him blank faces behind their unmoving masks. He gave a small nod in their direction before moving in the opposite direction. At the end of the street, he knew, was Chief Pacem's home. Would dear little Cody be inside?

He stopped before eh could get too close. He was wary of the police chief now; he had shot him, hadn't he? Much of that night in the mine seemed to come in a blur, but often his dreams were haunted by spectres of the horror. No doubt the Police Chief would like to exact revenge on him one of these days.

 _Father and son_ , he thought with contempt. _Both so infuriating…_

They had been lucky to get out of it, he knew. He was calmer now, his fury at the group being replaced by the relief he had had when they had returned home from South Tip. The unfamiliar man- Jabor, he thought- had saved their skins, despite being the one to actually shoot him. He thought he should hate the other for doing so, but instead he felt nothing but gratitude.

 _He let us go. And he didn't take the pistol._

Nobody knew he had it. He felt in his pocket reflexively, but he had made sure to leave it safely tucked beneath his bed. No one would search or find it.

He wasn't even sure why he had it still. Surely he had no need for Seron's old security pistol? But the exhilaration of shooting at another was not lost on him, an almost guilty pleasure…

How would Lysander look down the sights? His face cracked into a feral grin. His anger at the others was gone now; the group would always listen to him, not a weakling like Lysander.

His species was virtually unknown to him, but what he learned was this: it was stronger than humans in all regards. Sharper teeth and nails, stronger muscles, greater intelligence. These had led him to one solid belief over the years: those who were weak never had any place in society. They were outcasts, and left to fend for themselves. It was people like him, strong and powerful, who were _meant_ to be in control.

 _Cody will never be one of us. And the moment he tries to come again…_

He mimed firing a shot at the Folen Residence, then turned and began walking back to the shack.

 **XXX**

 **Gallis Iscander**

Magnus produced a piece of paper from one of his books ("Blank one from the front," he assured them), and Adelia took a blue inked pen from her briefcase. They looked absolutely primitive and childish, huddling around it when datapads and screens dominated cultures elsewhere.

But Gallis could hardly care. It was the most fun he'd had in ages. At least, up until they realized Kennex's words were rather true: this was Vash's private quarters. No one had ever tried to break into the garrison before. They had never been inside; how would they know?

"They have a help desk, don't they?" Cecilia said eagerly. "One of us can distract the guard there while we sneak past!"

"And who's to say there isn't another on the other side?" Magnus quipped. "That's standard Imperial procedure, have everyone within earshot of another. If they catch one of us, the whole plan goes up in flames."

She threw up her hands in exasperation. Even while frustrated, she was pretty to look at. Gallis found himself just watching her instead of actually brainstorming. _Wonder what she would look like at the helm of a ship?_

"Maybe a backdoor?" Adelia suggested. "Some sort of rear way we can get in?"

"How many times have we passed around the outside of it and never seen anything?"

"Seron's tools?"

The elder Iscander shook his head again, his hands tightening. "Those were confiscated, remember? Probably in the same room as the bombs we need."

"Doesn't it seem weird we're trying to _destroy_ something?" Adelia said hesitantly. "This is a new step for us. Are we sure-"

"Of course we are!" Cecilia cried. "Everything happens with a passion! We're not going to get off-planet by doing robbing houses over and over!"

"Another year and we would have stolen enough credits," the female Duro said gently.

She crossed her arms and pouted, making Gallis heart flutter. A firm hand clapped him on the back, and he flinched forward. Magnus looked at him with a knowing grin. "Any input, little brother?" he asked with fake politeness."

Gallis rubbed the hit. _He's got the strength of a _ cat._ "Well… we don't have to cause a distraction inside the garrison per say. We could cause a distraction somewhere else. Maybe by the market."

"That could work," Cecilia said quickly, shooting Adelia a mischievous smile to which the Duro clucked her tongue. "The garrison is already understaffed, right? The market is a bit far, but closer and it could draw out any troopers inside!"

"And then we get a free access back in," Gallis finished, grinning broadly and fasting his hands behind his head. "Man, am I brilliant or what?"

"We don't even need Kennex," Cecilia joked.

The door slammed open, and they all whipped around, Magnus almost drawing his slender knife from his boot.

"Pleased with ourselves?" Kennex mumbled, though his voice was taut with malice. He seemed to have gone from a content to disgusted mood. "Glad you got along well without me."

"It was a joke, Kennex," Cecilia mumbled.

"Well, best you guys get some good rest for you little mission tomorrow," he said as if she hadn't spoken, making Gallis squirm inside. "Come on, into bed, I want to sleep too."


	12. Ep 12: Market Manifold

**XXX**

 **Lysander "Cody" Folen**

The garrison base, despite being one of the most modern buildings in Cindra, lacked air conditioning. The Sun bore down, cooking them inside alive like some sort of exotic meat. At least, that's how Lysander felt, cooped up inside Vash's office.

He sat in one of the worn, gray leathery chairs off to the side, not doing anything. The Commander himself was behind his desk, cluttered with papers of inspections, complaints, and stars knew what else. His father, the Police Chief, was sitting across from him in another ugly chair. The whole room was ugly; no color came through except from the windows and small assembly of medals on the wall. Slate Imperial gray dominated it all.

Dad always dragged him here, now. He hardly spent time in the station anymore, he seemed to busy. Lysander desperately wished he could leave and go out to the group, but those days, he feared, would never come again. Alone and kept away from them was what Chief Folen thought best.

"Squad Two thinks they might be hiding another spice storage under this Toydarian's home," he heard Vash mutter, pressing an ungloved finger to the map of the town.

"Did they check inside?" Father asked tiredly.

"They did, but now their squad leader thinks the Toydarian was being too shifty when they neared his bed. They suspect a trapdoor or something beneath it."

Folen sighed. "So you need another warrant. You know I can't hand these out like candy."

"You know I could just barge right in, but…" Vash bit his lip, and Lysander rolled his eyes. The whole situation with this guy Jabor seemed just overdone. Sure, the guy had seemed a little scary back inside South Tip, but he had been very nice to both of the Folen's since then. He had even offered to give Lysander a ride off-planet someday…

Not that Father would allow it. He'd shut that down faster than his friendship with the orphans.

Restless, he stretched his limbs. _I gotta get out of here. I'm going to die of boredom in here, I swear._

"If there's actually spice inside, Jabor won't be able to complain if you break in," Folen argued, leaning back in his seat. "In fact, he might even repeal it if you can get that progress to Rellius."

"And if there isn't, he'll just make more complaints to Rellius," Vash bit out. His bald head was thick with perplexed sweat. The heat didn't seem to affect either of them, but the stress certainly seemed to. "This is getting more stressful by the day. Everytime we cap one of the rings, two more sprout up!"

"And what about… our thieves?"

Lysander tried to make himself look as bored as possible as Vash's eyes flicked to them. He knew who they were talking about, even if they didn't say it.

"They're surviving," Vash said shortly. "And frankly, I'm content to let them do so. Jabor can't ask about them when we have higher level crime going on anyway-"

"Speaking of Jabor," Father said tightly. "That wouldn't happen to be…?"

Vash held up a silencing finger, but it only stopped the talking, not the quiet beeping now coming from a datapad on his desk. "This is Commander Vash."

"Ah, Commander. Perfect." Lysander couldn't see the screen, but he recognized the pompous voice of the Governor. "I would like you and Chief Folen to come to the Export Station as soon as you can. Representative Jabor has returned from his offworld duties with some important news."

"We will leave as soon as we can," Vash said between his teeth, then closed down the datapad. "Terrific," he growled to to the Police Chief. "I'll leave my men on doubled patrols, should keep things controlled."

"What about me?" Lysander asked, just wanting to get out of the stuffy office.

Father hesitated. "Can I just be allowed to go around the garrison?" Lysander asked quickly. "Not go outside, but at least walk around? I don't want to be stuck in here!"

Vash held a warning finger up. "You can walk around, but not outside. Got it?"

"Got it!"

"We'll take my speeder, it's parked out front," Father said without looking at Lysander. "You take care of yourself, kiddo, alright?"

The door opened, hitting him with a blast of fresh air, and he breathed it in like the elixir of life. Freedom, at least partially. "You got it, Dad. Safe drive."

 **XXX**

 **Gallis Iscander**

The arrival of the miners had almost tripled the original population, and thus new avenues of commercialization were available. The market they had broken into and subsequently been caught in now had three competitors, all very close to one and other. A permanent watch by Asinus, Chief Folen's deputy, was established, as were four blank faced stormtroopers who spent more time watching reruns of HoloNet sabacc than watching the actual customers.

The density of people was high. Gallis could sense the animation around them as they walked. _Is that what it's like walking around the streets of Coruscant?_

He had heart _billions_ of people roamed that city. Cindra was probably just a single block of space to them. It often bewildered him.

His heart hardened. _And a lot of other people do to._

"Hey, you okay?' Adelia was watching him with concern. He smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, I'm okay. Are we ready?"

She pointed at a group of twelve beings haggling over a fresh slab of gorker meat, a winged creature that flew around the peaks of the mountains on Ommas. He recognized none of the alien species; he wasn't even sure they were all speaking Basic.

"On three?" he murmured, beginning to wrap his face in the soft white cloth.

"Three," she agreed, pulling out her own. "One…"

He looked to the stormtroopers. Still watching their screen.

"Two…" Asinus was trying to talk up a much younger woman. She clearly had no interest.

"Three." They finished wrapping their faces and both ran forward towards the groups, hands outstretched. He couldn't help it; a smile broke his features. Kennex would be furious when he found out what they were doing; he had gone out for another disgruntled walk. But the excitement of doing something _they_ had come up with was too much.

" _ZAVAJ?!"_ He looked up into the face of the alien's whose pockets his hands and entered. The neck was nonexistent; four great black eyes stared at him from the center of a milky white face. An arm pushed him away. " _Zabuja ni katuka!"_

He gave a two-fingered salute, then his hands purposely dug into the pockets of the alien next to them. She shrieked in something he couldn't even begin to try and understand, and this time both her and the first alien he had openly pickpocketed. " _Zavaj nu cyka kula!"_ it shrieked, one hairy arm closing around his wrist. It's other waved at the stormtroopers, repeatedly shouting, " _ZABUJA! ZABUJA!"_

Adelia was likewise in the grip of a human; she had only gotten as far as the one. The other members of the group had now turned on the commotion, the haggling forgotten. Passerbys we're also starting to stop and observe.

The stormtroopers looked over at the noise of the alien, giving them their next cue. Curling up his fist, Gallis gave the alien a quick, "Sorry!" before sucker-punching it in the face and stepping on its feet. It howled and hissed, lurching backward into the crowd. No one caught him, and he fell to the dusty ground.

Adelia was doing the same, her "captor," jumping up and down and holding his open-toed shoes.

"Hey, stop!" one of the stormtroopers shouted. Asinus likewise had abandoned his failed sweet talk and was coming over, clumsily drawing handcuffs.

And that meant their final step was coming. Lysander looked to the female Duro, and Adelia nodded. Together, they reached into their waist and pulled out the small black balls.

Kennex would really kill them now. He smiled behind the wrappings with anticipation..

They threw down Seron's smoke bombs, and the scene exploded into chaos. Beings began to cry out in panic and escape the sudden mass of smoke. In their panic, they began to trip over one and other. A human ran right into a Trandoshan eating some sort of raw meat treat, causing it to hiss in fury and punch him. The human's friend saw this and socked the Trandoshan right in the snout.

"Stop the commotion!" the stormtroopers cried. "Get Commander Vash here, _now_!"

Warning shots were fired into the air, but the chaos only increased right before his eyes. Small individual fights were breaking all over, and the shouts of "THIEF!" was echoing from one of the smaller stands.

"We need backup!" another stormtrooper cried, right before he was bowled over by a pack of Devaronians, all locked into a violent tussle. The smoke was dissipating now, but they had done their job. A full blown riot was in the works.

He felt kind of bad. People were being hurt, he could practically _feel_ the agony coming off some people. It sent shivers up his spine as he raced with Adelia away from the scene.

"That was fun!" she breathed. "That was definitely better than breaking into somebody's home when they're not there!"

"I wouldn't do it again," Gallis said hoarsely, looking back. The confusion of the scene was drilling into him, and he couldn't understand why. _Why does this happen to me?_ He demanded of himself. He hit himself in the head a few times, but the wrappings softened it, and the dark feelings persisted.

"Heat's getting to me, too," Adelia said, still looking at him. "Come on, let's get back to the house. Time to let Magnus and Cecilia do their part of the plan."

 **XXX**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

The Export Station had originally been a water purifying station from the acidic river that ran through the Kiroli Valley. It had been rebuilt on Governor-General Rellius's orders, and was now crude yet imposing structure that hugged the Kiroli Mountain a kilometer away from South Tip. A small spaceport lied in front, where Alignment cargo vessels periodically arrived to ship away the plastoid ore to parts unknown. The place had the smell of industrialization and hard labor, much like Arkanis had. Chief Folen wrinkled his nose at the memory. Some things were best left forgotten.

The airfield was fairly full. Two cargo ships were there, being loaded by stormtroopers and station workers with durasteel crates laden with raw plastoid ores. However, a large, elegant black shuttle was behind them; it towered to nearly the height of the actual Export Station. Folen frowned; it was certainly out of place amongst the almost simple layout of the port.

Vash handed his identification papers to the guard at the door; a fresh recruit from the rejuvenated academy on Porrax, he guessed. The young stormtrooper analyzed them briefly, then allowed them in.

Instantly a loud clamor reached their ears. At least ten miners, dressed in the bright white tunic's of official laborers, were chatting amongst themselves, waiting for the ore teller to take their goods. Here, the ore's were handed in, examined for authenticity and pureness, and then the miner's were promptly paid.

"Upstairs," Vash said, his tone taut. "Rellius has his private quarters there."

"Why so tense?" Folen asked as they ascended the slightly crumbled stairs.

"I recognized that shuttle. It's Representative Jabor's."

"Ah." He still didn't know how he felt about Jabor. Certainly he had taken an interest in Lysander during his month of stay after the incident at South Tip. He was certainly very cultured and prim, though he couldn't shake the image of him callously stunning Kennex in the mine.

Vash certainly despised him, and Folen had the feeling it went both ways. Not a day went by when the Imperial Commander criticized how Jabor seemed to be influencing Rellius- and therefore himself- on Ommas.

The stairs ended, and he wiped some sweat from his forehead. The heat was finally reaching him; he wondered if Lysander had been feeling it as well.

Two of Rellius's elite Vanguard Squadron guarded the doors to the Governor's temporary quarters whenever he came to Ommas. Originally, he would always visit the capital of Ommas, Tellik Prime, but the mine now sucked his attention away.

"Commander Vash?" one of the stormtroopers question imperiously. His rifle was slung over his right shoulder, while his left bore a long, red shoulder sleeve signifying his elite rank.

Vash nodded, and the two stormtroopers opened both doors for them.

Folen suppressed a whistle of awe. The room was a perfect, blemish-free white. Blue and white banners hung on the walls, as well as replicas of artwork he had never seen before. Wherever Rellius went, it seemed, his luxuries were never far behind. Compared the the derelict state of the rest of the building, the room was as out of place as a bantha at an Ugnaught family reunion.

The Governor himself was seated in a velvety red chair, legs crossed and arms clasped before him in his olive-gray uniform. Upon their entry, he stood and stepped forward to shake their hands warmly. "Thank you for coming, gentlemen."

"Take a seat," the familiar voice said. Jabor was not sitting in his seat; he was at one of four large windows that allowed the room to have a view of the spaceport below. Sunlight filtered in, drowning out the pale lights above their heads. It made his black uniform look slightly less imposing.

Vash hesitated a moment, then chose another one of the red chairs. Folen followed suit; they were very soft and squishy, and he forced himself to remain upright.

The New Republic Representative turned around, a datapad held in his hands. "I had asked you to come here for a specific reason, but it now seems we have some delay?"

Rellius frowned, his clasped hands coming undone to rest on the armchair rests. "What now?"

"It seems a riot is breaking out in the market section of Cindra." The pale face purposely turned to look at Vash with a small smile. "And a break-in at the garrison is being reported as well."

Folen stared. "A _break-in_? Who would be stupid enough to try something like that? It's the most protected place for kilometers, besides this station!"

The Commander was looking back at Jabor, his face reddening. "Then you understand we need to cancel this meeting so I can go and be with my men?" he said menacingly.

"I think not. Perhaps this will show us how good your soldiers are without you tugging their leases."

"They've never experienced something like this-"

"So you're telling us you have not trained them fully?" Jabor interrupted smoothly, and Folen understood. _He's testing him._ Maybe Vash's worries were justified, after all.

"That's not what I said at all," Vash countered angrily, his helmet swaying precariously on his bald head. "They _need_ their commander-"

"And I think having you here will be the perfect opening to my speech to you all," the Representative said. He turned pointedly to Rellius. "Do we have your authorization, Gathoren?"

The Governor-General shrugged. "Fine by me- the longer I'm here, the longer I have to stay away from the petty issues on Argos Major."

Vash's face reddened further, but he remained silent. Folen looked at Jabor, feeling unreasonably queasy. There was something about the man that told him he very much didn't want to know what he wanted to say.

The feeling, however, wasn't universal. Rellius clapped his hands. "Well, while we wait for this issue to resolve itself, let's reacquaint ourselves with civilization on this backwater planet. Redstripe, four glasses of the ale we brought with us from Argos!"


	13. Ep 13: View from the Inside

**Cecilia**

 **XXX**

From the glass doors of the cubed garrison base, six stormtroopers bustled out, heading in the direction of the Galactic Trader Market. Cecilia smirked beneath the light-blue scarf around her face as they rushed past, blaster rifles held to their chests as people made way for them.

"Sounds like our Gallis and Adelia made their move, time we do ours," Magnus cut in, moving away from their cover of three skinned _boros,_ fatty, slow-moving creatures that had become a cash-maker for those living in the mountains.

"Agreed," she said, readjusting her hair as best she could beneath the wrappings. It was starting to make her head itch, and she prayed that whichever being they had stole this from wasn't one full of hair.

He watched her with some amusement behind his own white-clothed disguise. "I like how it matches your hair. Nice look for you."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Get moving, laserbrain."

Magnus motioned forward, giving both ends of the street casual looks. Very few people were around now, drawn to the possibility of blood being spilled by the Market. Trying one last time with her hair, she darted after him across the street and around the garrison base. It was essentially four cubes smooshed together: the central one was where the reception desk was, and Vash and the meeting offices were.

Then directly behind it was the largest cube, the hangar. The AT-STs, military speeders, and all the equipment needed to keep them in shape lied there. To the left of the central was the other two; the closest to the center being their destination, the barracks and armory, and the final being the long-forgotten military prison center. Any criminals- not there had been for many years- were meant to go into Chief Folen's station now. Vash had long tried to raise funds to simply destroy the fourth unnecessary cube, but it had never happened. Instead, it had become something of an attraction for other kids to dare themselves to try and break into and have their holopicture taken.

The way into the actual garrison was locked, but they had their way in. Cecilia felt the lockpick Seron has given Kennex to break into the Market those few months ago. Hopefully, nobody would be on the other end to hear them bust in. All forty of the troopers ought to be on patrols somewhere, or now answering the call to aid by the Market. Their way in ought to be clear.

Pausing at the beaten-up entrance, Magnus braced himself, then smashed his body against the door. The hinges groaned in protest and yielded only slightly; two more powerful shoves pushed it open enough for them to squeeze through.

"Nice to have someone with some actual muscle," she commented as she slipped in.

"I keep telling Kennex and Gallis to be more athletic," Magnus whispered with mock distress. "We'll be stuck with their noodle-arms for a while, I guess. Stay by the door," he added, moving towards the one at the end of the room around the dusty tables and broken equipment.

The darkness didn't seem to poise a problem for the older Iscander while Cecilia kept her look to the door. Adrenaline caused her heart to pound like a drum in her ears. _This… this is what it could have been like out there. In the stars._

"Nobody on the other end," Magnus called hoarsely. "I'm gonna start picking it."

"Got it." Her eyes squinted at the light peering in. People went by, aliens she did not know the names of, some she did. There was a human male with a light green Twi'lek female, arm curled around her shoulder and steering her towards the miner camp, making her wrinkle her nose. _Don't get suckered in like that, sister. You can do better than that!_

Her own heart panged with self-pity, and she looked around at Magnus. _And am I ever going to do better than a wannabe stormtrooper and his Mr. Positive brother?_

She caught herself in her thoughts and shook her head. _Less drama, more watchdogging._ She turned back to the door-

And flinched away hard enough she almost tripped backward. Two stormtroopers were walking towards it! "Damned kids keep opening this thing," one of them grumbled.

"Vash needs to hurry up and triple seal this door," his compatriot complained.

She whirled around with horror; Magnus was looking at her with an equally struck look, the voices having echoed toward him.

"Hurry," she moaned, rushing to him. His hands began moving without him looking at them, he was suddenly so stressed. He bent his head down, trying to fit the lock into the electronically sealed lock. It still burned red-

" _Stars help me,"_ she heard him hiss, and he clutched his sleeve, looking at the opposite door with apprehension-

The door swung inward with a gentle, polished _squeak._ They both fell inward, her weight carrying them down. He scrambled up and hurried to shut it, just as the shadows of the stormtroopers were beginning to cast upon the exterior entrance. It finally closed, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, I could've done without the excitement," Magnus sweated. "I don't want to think what would've happened if they caught us inside with the lockpick."

"Yeah." They cautiously got to their feet. The marble walls seemed to be glowing from the bright lights above them. Some blue and white banners hung down the hall with the Argos Alignment insignia etched into them: the original symbol of the Empire with three triangles- meant to resemble Star Destroyers- at the 2, 6, and 10 o'clock positions.

Magnus shook his head at them. "Shame we don't even have any like a real Imperial state would," he said with some disgust. "Come on, we don't got much time before this place's residents return. Let's get into the armory."

 **XXX**

 **Kennex**

 _Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting._

He hefted the stone in his hand, then with a roar of rage threw it out into the lake. It hit the water and vanished with a _sploosh._ His hands worked at his sides, then went back to walking back and forth along the bank.

 _Sickening, is what it is. Why didn't they just ask me for help? Why are they doing it by themselves? Do they not trust me, or like me?_

He immediately ruled out the thoughts; he had already reached the conclusion. There was no way they disliked or distrusted him. He was their leader; he had brought them all together, into the group they had become. Seamless, efficient, always striving to survive. Always one step ahead against Folen and Vash-

 _Until that damned day. They lost faith. Because of..._

The thought horrified him, and then it filled him with anger. _Lysander…_

The group had gone without him to do their little mission. No amount of prodding, not even from Gallis, had spilled what they planned. He imagined it was reckless. He imagined they would get hurt or captured by Vash, and then he would rescue them. They had left him alone, and so he had come out here to vent. There had never been a need to before, but his anger with the others was so paramount he could not contain it. If he didn't, he was going to hurt someone, and pretty badly; even malnourished as he was, Firerreo's possessed much more muscular strength than most species.

 _Lysander... It's you, isn't it? You dirty, little scum…_

He sat down on the water's edge, watching his rippling reflection. He paid no attention to the animated hair, bared teeth, or furious eyes. Instead, the face of the Police Chief's son appeared to him, and he smashed his palm down into the water, destroying the image.

 _You did this. I know you did. I was always right about you!_

The boy- somehow, some way, he knew- had stolen the group from him. He had grown tired of the ridicule they always had for him, the insults. Kennex couldn't _believe_ how Lysander had gotten to this point. His mind quickly leaped upon the instances when Lysander had looked at him funny, or had remained silent at Kennex's jests, forming the mental image of dissent.

And it was so clear to him: it was the only logical explanation. Lysander had sold them out to Vash that night- that was how he knew they were coming! That was why he took Lysander aside after!

 _Oh, you think you're so clever, kid. Think because what I say is true, you're gonna get back at me? You have no idea who you're messing with, I'll turn your own father against you if you think you're gonna get away with this!_

He stood up from the bank of the water. His determined expression looked up at him, and he sneered down at himself. "I won't let you take away what I've made," he told the rippling apparition. His fingernails bit into his palms, and he held them over the reflection. He knew very little about his people's customs, but he imagined he was making a sacred vow to himself. His bloodied palm dripped a single drop of red into his watery face, and the ripples spread out from the point of inky red.

"I swear I will keep what is mine."

The small blaster slipped from his sleeve into his hand. He bent down and picked up another rock, and after a moment of hesitation, threw it into the air. The blaster quickly came up, tracking, and fired one, two, three shots at the flying rock. The last one struck it dead center, and it exploded over the lake.

Satisfied, he hid it back up his sleeve. _At any cost._ He began walking up, out of the canyon, and immediately heard the cacophony of sirens coming from Cindra.

He frowned. _The group?_ Without break, he began running back into town, the blaster snuggled comfortably against his skin.

 **XXX**

 **Magnus Iscander**

Creeping down the corridor with just their wits about them certainly unnerved him. Any remaining stormtroopers, for all their inefficiency, would still be able to gun them down fairly easily and without pause. This was the most secure place in the entire town; no one had ever broken into the garrison before.

At the same time, it filled with even more contempt. _No wonder the Rebellion won the war. If we're able to break into here so easily, I bet getting onto the first Death Star must've been a breeze._

Laughter suddenly came from one of the quarters ahead, making them frantically pause.

"That's a pure Sabacc run," the laughing one said.

"You're too much of a gambler," the second sighed. "I'm never going to risk so much all at once."

"There's your issue, then." The former sighed. "Any news from the Commander? Or where the others have gone?"

"Like I'd listen to whatever the sergeant says. He needs to loosen his armor a bit, same for Vash. But it's probably just another drill."

Magnus looked back at Cecilia, who shrugged. He shrugged back. _Vash isn't here, that's good. Hopefully he stays away too._

"Let's get another round going. Mine as well have some fun until they all come back."

Magnus gestured forward. And the two carefully walked past the slightly open door. He didn't bother glancing inside; there was no point in risking getting caught at all. It was luckily the last dorm quarters, and the marble hallway ended in small junction: one towards Vash's office and the front entrance, and a sealed durasteel door.

"The armory," he murmured. He hefted the lockpick, and approached it experimentally. There was a standard double-electronic code lock that was the required minimum for all Imperial armories, but he had also read the designers had made it explicitly difficult for the buyers to change the codes themselves. They often kept the codes upon manufacturing, and he knew most of them by heart at this point.

"Keep your eyes on the lookout for someone coming," he whispered, putting in the first code.

"There's someone coming," she said calmly.

He whirled around, holding the tool before him like a sword. She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Calm down and take a look for yourself, tough guy."

Magnus blinked. " _Lysander?"_

The other stared at them for a moment, then blinked and slowly approached. "Wha- _Cecilia? Magnus?_ What the hell are you guys _doing_ here? Why are you dressed like that?" he hissed as he approached, dropping to his knees in front of them he seemed so shocked. His face was a paling mixture of relief and disbelief, his hand brushing his brown hair back furiously.

"Camouflage for getting some bombs, wanna help?" Cecilia asked dryly.

" _WHY?"_

Magnus turned back to the lock. "We need to destroy the mine. To make things go back to the way they were."

Lysander choked, looked down the hall. "There's still stormtroopers here! Do you have any idea what would happen if you were catch you in here? You think you've seen my father mad, Vash would-"

"Are you going to complain or help?" Magnus said irritably. His second code hadn't worked; three more to go. He privately cursed the alien designers who had made the coding- the Rebellion would have had an easy time slicing into such devices…

He heard Lysander take a deep breath. "What do you mean make things go back to the way they were? You mean you want to get rid of all the new miners?"

"You live in a nice house in the better off part of town," Cecilia grunted. "You don't know what life is like over on our end. Short story is: it's not pretty. Not that it ever was, but it's even worse."

"But don't you guys realize how much the plastoid is worth?" he asked incredulously. "Kennex could spent a week down there and probably have enough to buy you all seats off of Ommas!"

That gave him pause. "Really?" Cecilia said, her voice dripping with contempt. "Why do I think you're just trying to wimp out of this? If you don't want to help us, fine, just don't expose us."

The first lock gave him a green light, bringing him back to the matter at hand. He began working on the same second one, and this time the first code he put in was the right one. The lock folded back, revealing a dug-in handle.

"I just want you guys to be safe," Lysander said exasperatedly. "And you risking everything by trying to bloody blow up the town's new economy won't do _anyone_ good. Marble is going to be worthless after this, all Argos wants is the plastoid for stormtrooper armor. Get rid of it and you're going to send Cindra back to the stone age."

He hesitated on the door handle, but Cecilia urged him forward. "Just open it so we can get out of here, he won't be any help," she snorted.

"Magnus don't," Lysander warned. "I don't know what Kennex is thinking, cooking up something like this-"

"Kennex didn't even come up with this, we did. He didn't even want us to do this."

Lysander ran a hand through his hair again. "Well I hate to say it, but maybe you should listen to him this time!"

But that only reminded Magnus of his grudge match with the Firerreo a few days ago, and he dug his fingers in and pulled.

The door gave the loudest groan imaginable, making the hairs on his neck rise. Immeaditely, he knew they were in trouble from all angles. From the trooper dorms, he heard the two give questioning remarks.

And then from the entrance, the stormtroopers posted there simply stepped away from their positions to look down the hallway.

Right at them.

Magnus waved weakly. "Ah… hey."

"Intruders!" The blasters flared to life with red lightning, and he ducked as they shot into the armory.

"GET INSIDE!" he cried to the others, bodily pulling Lysander in who seemed to paralyzed to do so. He slammed the door while the stormtroopers called for reinforcements into their comlinks.

He was so panicked he didn't even think tor elock the door; he moved a pile of boxes in front of it, hoping it would slow them down.

"Detonators, grenades, find something!" he cried, his eyes glazing over the whole scene. Rows of blasters, from pistols to repeaters, heavy rifles to targeting snipers leaned against the left wall, while modifications and attachments rested on a oiled workbench. A row of silver balls was just beyond them-

They all scrambled over: concussion grenades, he recognized them clearly. They would have to do- he grabbed a bag and began stuffing as many as he could in.

"You guys are crazy," Lysander said angrily. "They'll _notice_ you're stealing these, these things aren't cheap!"

"Not much room for discussion on this right now!" Magnus snarled back. "Either help or get out of the way!"

Lysander made another choking sound of despair, then grabbed two concussion grenades and tossed them in the bag as well. "I can't believe we're doing this- I was just asking these guys if I could have some of their lunch an hour ago-"

"Your father didn't pack you one?" Cecilia remarked breathlessly.

"No, _he didn't!_ "

The door gave a high-pitched groan and hummed; unable to get it open with the crates in the way, the stormtroopers had opted to burn it down completely. And it wasn't that thick of a metal.

"We have enough, how do we get out of here?" Magnus said, looking around. There were a number more doors, but did any of them lead outside? He tried to picture where they might lead based on his years of looking at the garrison base from the outside. But his mind was gripped in a panic, and a strange alarm bell was fogging his thoughts-

"The hangar!" Lysander said, gripping them both by the front of their shirts. "Come on- you don't even need access codes for the hangar doors-"

"We can't go out the hangar doors- _everyone_ will see us!" Cecilia hissed.

The security door blew off it's hinges and above their heads, crashing down onto the detonator bench in front of them and knocking everything to the floor.

"Hangar's fine," Cecilia breathed.

"Blast them!" The stormtroopers fired recklessly into the room, one red shot burning a hole through the bag, but luckily not striking any of the detonators. Magnus heaved it up and followed Lysander at a run towards the far door.

The stormtroopers seemed to have a change of heart and switched to stun mode, for a blue arch of light slammed into a table on his left, turning it over-

He shoved Cecilia as the alarm bell in his mind gave a shrill sound. A stun bolt that would've hit her in the side zipped past his outstretched arms to hit the wall. She didn't even reply to his sudden movement; she skidded across the floor like some sort of primitive creature for a moment, her hands bloodying on shards of metal and debris. Then she was on her feet and reaching the door as Lysander flung it open-

-Into a hallway that fed to a pair of double doors at the end. _They'll hit us for sure in there_ , he thought. And, without thinking, his hand found its way into the bag and wrapped around one of the concussion grenades.

"Stop and you will not be harmed!" the gambling stormtrooper shouted. How could he say that, when they had just been shooting to kill-?

 _They're not stormtroopers-_ you _are._ "Bet on this!" he screamed back, and his thumb passed over the trigger. He threw it down randomly behind him and the stormtroopers cried out, breaking off their chase for a moment-

He flew down the hallway to where the other two were at the end of, and the doors slammed shut behind him.


	14. Ep 14: An Exit, An Entrance

**Lysander "Cody" Folen**

 **XXX**

"You threw a _grenade_ at them?!"

"I… ran out of ideas," Magnus breathed.

There was no time to question the guy's decision. There was no time for any of this. "Go, get out of here!" he hissed, giving Magnus a shove for good measure. He could hear the mechanical voices of the stormtroopers getting closer. If they caught them, he didn't want to think what would happened.

Magnus slapped his hand on the hangar door control button, but to Lysander's horror it gave a negative beep. **ALL DOORS ON TEMPORARY LOCKDOWN. PLEASE TRY LATER,** the small screen read.

"Not as dumb as they look," Magnus mumbled, his face pasty and bag sagging.

"Now what?! Cecilia cried, looking over her shoulder. Footsteps were coming from the double doors now-

"Get down and follow me," Lysander whispered, beckoning for them to follow him over to a stack of weapons crates. From the depths of the garrison, five stormtroopers marched in, weapons raised, searching.

"Come out!" one called. "There's nowhere to run, traitors!"

Lysander peeked from around the crates. They were by Dad's backup speeder, a beaten up XP-38 that was once top of the line, and now thoroughly outdated. Asinus sometimes used it, but otherwise it was a dusty heap, the keys locked in his Dad's desk. One of the troopers bent down and looked under it, but found nothing. "Stop making this difficult for yourself," the same trooper said, his irritation flashing through the digitization.

"They're going to find us," Cecilia moaned, wringing her hands.

Lysander very much wanted to tell her to shut up, and what had made her think breaking into the garrison was a good idea in the first place. Did they really think all stormtroopers were so stupid?

 _Getting angry won't help anyone,_ he told himself, and he took a deep, calming breath. "Okay," he said quietly, turning to Magnus. He fished out the sandwich the stormtrooper had given him earlier, turning it in his hand. "Creep along towards that repair bench. When I throw this, you're going to dash back in and go out the front door."

The other stared. "What? That's ridiculous, they'll see us! And there's bound to be a rear guard-"

"Just do it!" He looked around the crates again, then flashed back, heart pounding. One of the troopers was just on the other side, walking quietly, helmet luckily having been turned the other way.

The white armored man sauntered past, his rifle raised with the flashlight under the barrel on. It swept towards a perilously stacked gas canisters, and the he moved on, and Lysander flapped his hands at them. " _Move!"_

Magnus gave him a hesitant look, but Cecilia was clearly wanting to trust him, for she tugged the Imperial sympathizers sleeve towards the bench. They darted away, hiding behind it. The stormtroopers weren't close enough to see them, and Lysander took another deep breath. _Okay, okay, come on, Kennex acts all the time. You can do it just fine._

He looked over at them again. _And they're counting on me._

And with a mighty heave, he threw the sandwich at the stacked gas canisters, hitting the top one squarely in the top. It tilted, then fell with a crash to the ground. As soon as it hit, he gave the wildest cry of pain he could, even hitting himself as hard as he could in the chest with his hand.

"What the hell?!" the stormtrooper shouted, turning around with his blaster raised. To his credit, however, he didn't fire. The other stormtroopers quickly abandoned their areas and rushed over to Lysander, where he writhed as best he could on the ground. "They hit me and ran to the main office!" he groaned as the stormtrooper rushed over to him, with his finger pointing accusingly at the fallen gas canisters. "They were holding me hostage!" The other four quickly shined their lights, hoping to catch their suspects in the beams.

Lysander risked a look behind him, but there was nobody by the repair bench anymore. His distraction had worked; they had gotten away.

"Oooh, ahh," he groaned, rubbing his chest as if a long knife had pierced him. "I think I need some medical attention…"

"Anything?" the closest stormtrooper called to his comrades.

"Nothing," the others said, disappointed. "Slipped past us!"

The stormtrooper sighed, then held out a hand. "Well, kid, can you walk? You alright?"

"Actually, I feel fine!" he said brightly, helping himself up. "Hope you catch your missing traitors- I'll tell my Father and Commander Vash what a great job you guys did!"

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

 **XXX**

The Representative looked up from his data pad, a curious smile on his face. Vash stared at him, his face purpling. "Congratulations, Commander Vash," Jabor said politely. "Your soldiers have completed their suppression of the insurgents."

Governor-General Rellius looked between the two. "Well, that's wonderful news!" he exclaimed, leaning forward from his fluffy red chair. "We'll have the insurgents brought before us for a public execution-"

"I said they completed it. I did not say they succeeded."

"Meaning they failed?" Vash intoned dangerously.

"Indeed." Jabor looked at the silently enraged commander with a mocking sorrowful look. "A very poor performance, indeed. A bystander reported two hooded figures left the garrison base. _Through the front door._ " The representative shook his head again. "Have you not taught your stormtroopers the necessity of having rear guards?"

Vash approached the seated representative, his helmet swaying on his head. "Had you allowed me to actually take control of the situation, instead of forcing me to remain here with _you_ and the Governor, I could have very easily guided my men to victory!"

A chill ran up Folen's neck. The room seemed to be growing darker somehow, and then he realized that Jabor's finger was still on the datapad. The blinds were closing, blocking out the sunlight, and the formerly pale white lights were slowly changing to red. Rellius looked around questioningly, but remained silent.

Vash laughed, his face half illuminated in crimson. "Do you fancy yourself the Emperor, with such dramatic lighting?" he scoffed. "You are a New Republic stooge, not an Imperial. You stand here, attempting to smear my reputation-"

"You'll find that I am more Imperial than you could ever imagine, Jabor said, the politeness gone from his voice. "What this little incident has proved is exactly why I summoned you both, Chief Folen and Governor-General Rellius, here today. You are incompetent for a job of this magnitude, Vash."

Vash stared, then looked back at Folen. _Hang in there,_ Pacem tried to say with his eyes, but in the sparse lighting he didn't think the Commander could see him. Vash turned back to Jabor, now sounding confused. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that you are dismissed from your position as garrison commander of the North end of Ommas. Your replacement is here to reinforce this."

"My replacement-?"

The words ended in a high whine, as a much brighter red light suddenly illuminated the room. Folen flinched, his skin crawling. From the source of that red light, he saw something large, towering, and shadowy.

The blaster bolt struck Vash in the side of the head before Folen had even begun to question the newcomer. His jaw dropped almost as fast as Vash dropped to the ground, his body falling onto the previously clean white central carpet. The combat helmet tumbled away, a hole distinctly visible. Smoke rose gently from the wound.

"Wh-what is the meaning of this? Rellius demanded. "Jabor-"

"May I introduce a proper commander for our garrison here," Jabor said snidely, waving an arm carelessly as the shadow approached. Folen slowly realized it was not, in fact, a shadow at all. Shiny, stormtrooper-like chrome armor encased the newcomer as he stepped beneath one of the growing red lights. The helmet, however, had one strange anomaly: the eye guards seemed to crying long, inky black tears down to the chin, that melded into the mouthpiece.

"My my," Rellius said, his astonishment at Vash's death already gone. "And who is this, Representative?"

"This is Captain Bragg. He is of… old Imperial sources."

 _Old?_ Folen looked with wide eyes. The Empire was dead, wasn't it? The Alignment had to be the last of the old fiefdoms that had spawned after Jakku. The New Republic had done a thorough job of cleaning out all the pretenders. Those who still clung to the old Empire, like the Alignment, were barely ghosts of the former.

This man showed no sign of that degradation or age. He held himself tall, perhaps six and a half feet. He stared ahead from within his helmet, standing now in the center of the room beside Vash's corpse, like a hunter beside the prize.

"Captain Bragg will be assuming control of the garrison to weed out our problems with the miners, as well as these new insurgents," Jabor said loftily. "I assure you, he is very prepared for this job. He will whip the garrison into a state worthy of the old Empire."

Rellius gave a disgruntled cough. "I believe _I_ have the final say in this matter?"

"Are you going to deny this offer?" Jabor countered. "Chief Folen, what do you think?"

"I… he seems to know what he's doing." Folen couldn't help but look at the still smoking barrel of the blaster pistol. This man had just killed Vash, someone who had helped raise his son after Shorra's passing. _Death's nothing new… but why am I not feeling more outraged?_

Instead, he felt a quiet sense of dread.

"I will not disappoint you, Governor-General," Bragg said metallically, speaking for the first time. "I will bring those responsible for the theft of the explosives to justice, and bring stability back to Cindra."

"We'll give him a test run," Rellius said grudgingly, though he certainly sounded impressed. "However, some warning would have been preferred, Representative Jabor. And you owe me a considerable fee; that Jelucan rug is going to smell like charred flesh for years!"

"Your concerns aside, time is short," the other said bluntly, standing up and straightening his cuffs. "I must return to Coruscant, now. When I return, we will discuss Bragg's progress and future events between the Argos Alignment and your potential new allies."

"If there is progress," Rellius said with amusement, standing up from his seat. Folen did the same, feeling deeply unsettled.

Jabor laughed hoarsely while Bragg stood there silently, unmoving like some sort of machine. "Believe me, there will be. Now, Chief Folen, I believe your speeder now has an open seat to take Captain Bragg into town?"


	15. Ep 15: Bragg

**Gallis Iscander**

 **XXX**

The evening was one full of celebration and success. Magnus and Cecilia recounted their glorious escape from the stormtroopers with Lysander's help while they feasted on the last of their stolen food on the banks of the Moonless Lake.

Even Kennex seemed to be in good spirits, though Gallis could feel that it may have been more of an act. But it was good to see their leader on their side after his cold behavior earlier. Maybe it was just hearing how Lysander had been left behind with the stormtroopers.

When the food was gone, they all relaxed on the banks, quiet. Their nerves were still taut; Gallis still couldn't believe they had gotten away with it. _We were lucky. But at least it's done._ He looked at the bag, by Magnus's feet as he spoke quietly with Adelia and Kennex. _Good work, big brother._ As if he had spoken aloud, Magnus looked over at him with a knowing smile.

Gallis smiled back, though he still thought incredulously, _How do we keep doing that?_

He leaned back on the sand, wanting to just fall asleep there. They sometimes did that, after little "feasts" like these.

 _Then we can hopefully get rid of the plastoid ore. And things can go back to the way they were, just trying to get credits to buy passage off of Ommas…_

His nose wrinkled and eyes squeezed shut tighter. _We can't keep lying to them._

"Good distraction you had." He leaned up and spat out Cecilia's hair that had dangled into his mouth. She laughed as he coughed and spit loose ones from his mouth, and she leaned away from him.

"Thanks," he said as proudly as he could, feeling embarrassed. She must've been above his head for some time, waiting for him to notice. "You did a good job getting the concussion grenades- with Magnus, I mean. A good job," he said again, not knowing why. It was cold, why was he heating up?

She half-shrugged, sitting cross-legged with her sandals off. "It was mostly Magnus and Lysander," she admitted. "I was just along for the ride. Wasn't much room for adventure."

"If there was, you would've done pretty good. You're really quick on your feet." Which was pretty much a lie; she tended to freeze up in intense situations, but so did he. And there was no point in insulting her.

She smiled. "Thanks."

 _Do it._ "Want to go for a walk?"

"Sure."

He blinked. _It was that easy, all this time? I just had to ASK?_ He felt himself getting up, waving to the others with a simple explanation, and then they were walking out the valley in the grassy field.

A wall of clouds was above them in the absolutely dark sky. A cool breeze was flitting through the ankle-high grass around them, not enough to make them cold, but enough too…

Cecilia looked at him, then to the arm he'd slung around her shoulders. "You're warm."

He put on a brave face, aware he was reddening rapidly. "Uh… it's an Iscander thing."

"Uh-huh." But she didn't take his arm off her. They walked comfortably, talking about whatever came to mind. It was such a calming experience that Gallis could not recall having ever been at more peace, even around Magnus. His brother was always there for him, but talking to another, especially he cared about the way he did was… filling.

After a while, she said, "We should probably start heading back. It's been a while."

"Yeah." He'd hardly noticed; she had been talking about her first impressions of him and Magnus when they'd joined the orphan team. Dirty, disheveled and dejected. It was nice to hear her talk about him so innocently-

"Gallis."

"Huh?"

She stopped, brushing lose bits of the blueberry hair off her flawless face. Even in the darkness, without a clear view, he felt his mouth go dry. "Why don't you want to go into space as much as the rest of us?"

"I do," he said defensively, struck by the change in topic. "Magnus and I-"

"Then why don't either of you ever talk about why you want to?"

His shoulders sagged. This was where she was going, she wanted to know about _that_ , not him. "I… can't say why. Magnus doesn't-"

"But Magnus isn't here right now. You and me are, and I want to know why. If you don't want to get off this blasted planet as much as the rest of us, I want to know why. Don't you two want to get offplanet, see what's beyond this one place? Travel the galaxy?" She leaned closer to him, inquisitively, pressing. Suddenly, he wasn't as comfortable. "To find the person who stole all your money?" she persisted. "Get _revenge_ on them-?"

"That's exactly what we want."

He hadn't meant to say it, and he pressed his lips together. But what was said had been said, and she leaned back from him slowly, the arm around her long forgotten. "Really?"

"Yeah." _Magnus is going to kill me._

"Like… do what to him?"

He hesitated. "Get… y'know the money back. Get back at him for what he did to us-"

"You want to kill him?"

"No," he said too hastily, and she turned away from him. "No!"

"I believe you," she said, though with what he thought was triumph was in her tone. "But I know Magnus wants to do it. He's strong-minded to do something like that- capable, too."

He stared. "You're… not weirded out by that?"

"Come on, look at the way we are," she scoffed, turning back to face him. "A bunch of orphan kids living in a shitty system, on a shitty planet, in a shitty community? Sometimes I find it weird we _haven't_ killed someone yet! Oh man up," she snapped, seeing the look of disbelief on him. "How hard can it be, really? If they're against you, what's the problem, really? They'd do the same to you!"

"Wh-what's the problem?" he said weakly. _This isn't the response I was expecting._ "It's… life, Cecilia. I…?" He put a hand on the back of his head, feeling the heat rising again, but for a much different reason. "I don't know what to say, just… yeah, he wants to kill him, I guess. I don't- just… bring him to justice, or make him pay us back, or- or or something!"

She laughed. "This is what you've been so afraid of telling the others? Magnus, too?"

Gallis through up his hands, a strange sound coming from lips, and she snorted again. "Wow, well thanks for telling me. I'll keep it our little secret," she said teasingly, making him feel queasy. Her reaction might not have been what he was expecting, but he knew Adelia and Lysander would not be as warm. Kennex maybe, but…

Her face was becoming vivid to him, more colored. He turned around and quickly moved a hand to his eyes: a speeder was fast approaching, it's frontal beams turned to max.

A chill went up his spine, nothing to do with the cool breeze or the confrontation. Instead, that annoying warning bell was going off in the back of his mind-

 _Be careful._

The speeder came to stop, and he gave Cecilia a quick look. She shrugged back at him. "We're not doing anything wrong," she murmured to him. "Just be calm-"

"What are you two doing out here this time of night?" They both snapped their attention back to the speeder: two figures were coming out of it, and he recognized the voice talking.

"Just having a nighttime walk, Chief Folen," he said breezily enough. He looked around as the police chief came into better view. "I didn't think you'd come out this far on your patrol, though."

Folen seemed strained: his eyes were sagged, and his shoulders hunched. "I normally, don't no."

"Do you normally stray this far from the town?" For the first time, Gallis took in the presence of the other, and his heart started to hammer in his chest. The silhouette had shown a larger figure: he had figured it to old Vash.

But the armored person before him was not the Commander. Concealed beneath armor that shined like a chrome star in the beams, he could see the man did not have the sense of age and slowness Vash had possessed. Muscular, astute, and tall, the armored being looked down at them from a helmet that looked like one of the normal stormtroopers… but wasn't. A strange object, like a long pole, was attached diagonally to his back, and a heavy blaster rifle held loosely in his left hand. His mouth ran dry, and the figure asked again. "Do you normally come this far out?"

"No, we don't," Cecilia intoned, sounding equally put off.

The helmet turned to face her. "Then why are you here?" he asked flatly.

"We… came for a walk."

"Why not in the security of the town? Or if wanting to be away from a crowd, then along the road to the South Tip Mine? It is often secluded but safer than out here, with beasts and Crist around." A long pause. "Or are you two not alone out here? There are more in your orphan organization, I know."

 _Organization?_ The questions kept coming, but the warning feeling in his mind prevented him from telling the whole group was out here. "Just us two," he said confidently., staring into the depths of the mask.

Folen put a hesitant hand on the armored man's shoulder. "Bragg, you don't really think these orphans are responsible for-"

The strange stormtrooper held up a gloved hand. "There is a valley nearby, isn't there?" he said in the same emotionless tone, the mask tilting to look at their bodies. "With a… lake inside?"

Gallis resisted looking at Cecilia, but she was smart. They both knew what was going on. _The garrison break-in. They're looking for suspects._

Their clothes were still wet from swimming. Bragg wanted to find the rest of the group, whom they hadn't told when they would come back…

"Get in the landspeeder." Bragg waited for them to get in first, in the back seats, while Folen took the pilot's chair and Bragg the passenger. It sped off at a low whine, with Gallis feeling anxiety. What would happen if Bragg found the others? Did he know something, had Magnus and Cecilia left behind some sort of evidence? Had Lysander ratted them out?

He dared not speak to Cecilia with this newcomer so close by. The speeder reached the edge of the valley quickly, and Folen turned off the forward repulsorlift, so that the speeder dipped down and bathed the inside with the high beams.

There was nobody inside. "Move the beams around," Bragg commanded chillingly. Folen did so, but nothing appeared, save for a small four legged creature that squawked as the beams fell on it then sped away. Bragg raised a heavy blaster rifle that somehow seemed as small as a blaster pistol in his arms. However, he lowered it as the creature scurried off.

"We told you we were here alone," Cecilia said, putting some defiance in her voice. "Since we're already in the speeder, can you just take us home?"

Bragg did not reply, and finally Folen said awkwardly, "Yeah, sure. You kids just make sure you don't come this far out again, alright? Lots of dangerous things around…"

Which was untrue; everything dangerous had long since been wiped out or lived in the towering mountains no one bothered to climb. But Gallis kept his mouth shut, and ten klicks later they were coming to a hovering halt in front of their decrepit shack among the others.

Bragg stared at them a moment as they got out, and Gallis gave a hesitant wave. "Ah… thanks for the lift, Chief Folen and… Bragg."

The helmet dipped in acknowledgment. "Captain." He turned away, and Folen gave them a ragged nod before speeding into the direction of the garrison.

Gallis exhaled deeply. "What was that?"

Cecilia knocked on the door as she spoke. "Looks like a new commander- he had the markings of a garrison commander on his shoulder, I think. I wonder what happened to Vash-?"

"There you two are!" The door opened, and Adelia rushed out and entangled Cecilia in a hug. Magnus came behind her and smacked his brother on the head. "Ouch- jeez, what was that for?" Gallis protested.

"Left without even telling us?" Kennex said angrily from inside. "We didn't even realize you had gone! We left to teach you guys a lesson- walk out alone, come home alone!"

"It's a good thing you did," Gallis said breathlessly as they stepped back inside. "Listen…"

When he had told them all what had happened, with excerpts from Cecilia's point of view, Adelia rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Sounds like they fired Vash. I wonder if that Republic representative had anything to do with it? Definitely the Governor-General-"

"Whoever did it, it means Vash is out of our hair for good," Kennex sniffed, stretching his arms with a yawn. "Never liked the guy. He mine as well be dead to the rest of us."

"But the new one is dangerous!" Gallis protested. "There's something about him, he's not from around here! He looks like a stormtrooper, moves and talks like one-"

"Sounds like a competent trooper at last," Magnus snorted.

Gallis looked at his brother, wanting to tell him about the revelation with Cecilia. To his annoyance, she was looking at him with a playful smile: he had the strong urge to tell her to just piss off, but he resisted.

"We can worry about this in the morning," Kennex declared, rubbing his dark eyes. "Everyone just get some sleep… seems we all had a busy day today."

"But-"

"Sleep," Kennex said more sternly, then walked over to his bunk.

Gallis gave Magnus a beseeching look, but his brother simply ruffled his hair. "Talk tomorrow," he mouthed.

The younger Iscander sighed, then resigned himself to sleep. The warning bell in his mind persisted for half the night.

 **XXX**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

"Stop the speeder."

"Why-"

"Stop." Folen took his foot off the acceleration pad, and it slowed to a halt. Bragg was watching the hovel the two children were just entering. Folen looked between the closing door and his compatriot before asking, "You really needed to see them go inside?"

Bragg turned around to face forward again. "They lied to us," he said matter-of-factly. "But we will catch them in the act soon enough."

"How do you know it's them?" Folen demanded, sending the speeder forward again.

"Commander Vash may have been incompetent, but he kept a well documented list of the crimes. All were listed as unknown perpetrators until he actually caught the orphan children at the Galactic Trader Market." He looked pointedly at Folen. "As well as your son."

Disbelieving, Folen gave the chrome helmet a searching look. "That has to be a mistake. Vash never told me of such an incident; he said they ended up not catching anybody when I asked him of it."

The speeder pulled to a halt in front of the garrison structure, where the entire stormtrooper detachment waited out front, bathed in the bright white lights of the building. Bragg pulled out a small datapad and shoved it into the Chief's arms, then got out and said, "Come in with me."

The Chief got out and followed the chrome Captain as he marched between the ranks of stormtroopers, who held their rifles clutched to their chests and stared straight ahead-

"Straighten your back, trooper," Bragg said shortly to one of the ones on his left, and the trooper quickly straightened his shoulders. "You two- your safeties are not locked in. Do you have plans to fire your blasters in a reception?" The two troopers in question hastily fumbled with their blasters, and two small clicks could be heard as Folen passed.

Bragg paused at the entrance, turning to face them. "You all have been notified of Commander Vash's termination. You know I am in command now. And now you will know that he has failed you as a garrison leader. I will be rectifying the situation over the next few weeks. Return to your quarters, and we will begin in the morning."

The stormtroopers shuffled in silently, though Folen could imagine the looks of bewilderment beneath their helmets. Bragg's normally toneless voice was sharp, tinged with icy resolve. But even as he turned to Folen, the voice of the stalwart leader was replaced by the same robotic apparition. "Into Vash's former office."

Folen followed, pressing the other. "My son was with the orphans? You're certain of this?"

"Unless Vash had reason to lie, then yes, your son was collected with them."

Uncomfortable memories of finding Lysander with the orphans in Cindra Mine ran through his mind, but he quickly dismissed them. There was no way his boy had been flirting with crime with those degenerate children. Vash had to be lying, or mistakenly thought one of the orphans was Lysander.

Speaking of- "My son, where is he now? We left him here when we answered Rellius's summons-"

"He is being treated for superficial wounds in the garrison medbay. Apparently, the robbers injured him during their run through the facility." Again, the unreadable helmet turned pointedly to Folen. "He is lucky to have survived such an encounter. A number of explosions went off during the skirmish."

Relief swept through him, but then suspicion. "My son is not associated with the orphans _or_ the robbers- considering we have no proof they are the same still-"

The door to Vash's office opened, and Bragg went behind the desk. The desk drawer was locked, but he simply forced it open with a brute tug on the handle, and Folen shivered with the thought the other had not stepped into the room before, but already knew it as his own. Folen caught a folder being tossed to him deftly.

"Read the datapad now. These folders contain all previous incidents. The orphans appear to have been responsible for all recent crimes prior to the discovery of plastoid," Bragg said metallically as Folen scanned through them. He realized the datapad was Vash's personal log, taken from his body... "Even if the correlations are wrong, then the fact they were caught they in the Market and South Tip is evidence enough they have been breaking the law for personal gain in two crucial instances. Because of this, I hold them accountable for the break-in at the garrison as well."

He set down the datapad, feeling his chest tighten. "But these are speculations," Folen argued. "Not proof, as we said. We need to-"

"Proof is not necessary if the need to stop a threat quickly is more desireable," Bragg broke in. He looked closely at Folen from behind the helmet, then slowly reached a hand up and grasped the handle of the object on his back. In one swift stroke he had it out and before him, and Folen looked in bewilderment. It was a monstrously long sword; sharp, thin, and motley gray. "And in my experience, _any_ threat must be eliminated quickly," he finished, holding the handle of the blade in one hand.

Folen did not reply, watching as he set it upon a counter ornamentally. "I will find the perpetrators one way or another, Chief Folen," Bragg said. "If it is not the children, then they will be left alone. But if it is them, what needs to be done will be done."

"I… will assist as needed," Folen said stiffly. His stomach was wriggling uncomfortably; memories, long dragged down, were hazily appearing in his mind's eye…

"Good. I'm going to go speak to your son now."

"Wha-?"

"He encountered the insurgents directly; he will be able to inform us accordingly."

Folen's hand clenched and unclenched. "Tomorrow," he said. "He needs rest. And I will be the one asking him. I'm his father; I should be the one to do it."

For a moment he thought Bragg would disagree, but the other finally said, "Very well. I must acquaint myself with the garrison as is. I look forward to working with you, Chief Folen."

"And the same to you, Captain," he said as strongly as he could, then exited the office.


	16. Ep 16: Unexpected Confrontations

**Lysander Folen**

 **XXX**

The Sun awoke him, and he had to admit it was one of the best sleeps he'd had in ages. He had convinced the medical assistant to give him sleeping tablets- mainly because he couldn't stop thinking about his friends, and hoping they had escaped cleanly. The tablets had done their work effectively enough: he felt more rested than he ever had been.

He leaned up on the small white bed he'd been given. The room held only a counter and cabinets that had the assistants various medicines and pills; standard Imperial gear. The assistant himself, Lysander was certain, had no clue what he was doing. All the bottles were labeled for simplicity: _For blaster burns, for skinrot,_ and so the others followed.

 _Vash needs to hire a new guy_ , he thought dryly, knowing full well there was no one else possible. His joints cracked and he winced, then slid his legs off the bed to drape over the side, the tips of his toes touching the cold floor.

Someone was talking outside his door, their voices muffled, and he froze. _Dad's out there._ Quickly he went back into the position he was before, feigning sleep.

The door opened upward before he could close his eyes, forcing him to look over. "Good, you're awake," Father said, coming in close and leaving it ajar. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," he groaned.

"Brave of you to stand up to those assailants, I couldn't be more proud." Lysander, however, only heard a sense of urgency in his voice, no genuine joy.

"Is… something wrong, Dad?"

The older Folen gave him a fake smile, the very same he used when he said he would be home on time, or that his work was not stressful. "Sort of, Lysander. Ah… I need you to recount to me what happened during the attack."

So that was it. He needed information for the investigation, no doubt Vash had thought it smart. Putting on his own good smile, he said, "I don't know, Dad. One minute I was walking down the corridor, and the next they were there! I tried to get away, but they threw explosives…"

But Father shook his head. "I need to know everything, down to the smallest detail," he said, leaning in closer by his son's bedside. He put a hesitant hand on his; it was clammy. "Anything else?"

He could feel something was off, but still he said, "That's all I remember, I swear-"

"That is not what the troopers inside the garrison base said." Lysander looked beyond his Father, whose jaw had set in place. A new figure- the one his father must have been speaking to outside the door- filled the doorway. Chrome armor, reminiscent of the normal stormtrooper design yet different, coated him, and a more curved, black tear dropped-helmet shielded his face.

"What?" he said stupidly.

"We said _I_ would ask him the questions," Father said coolly, finally standing and turning.

"And it is not hard to see when a son is lying to their father. It is a very practiced art among disobedient children." The figure stepped closer to his bed, and he felt an unexplainable shiver crawl across him. "My stormtroopers reported that you went into the armory with the assailants, though they gave the benefit of adding you seemed to be a hostage. They then found you in the vehicle garage. I want to know every bit of information that transpired."

 _My stormtroopers? What happened to Commander Vash?_ Swallowing into his dry throat, he said, "It went by in a blur. I-I can't recount it all."

"Were they the orphaned children of Cindra?"

"He's my son, not a prisoner," Father said angrily as Lysander's chest tightened. "There's no need to sound so aggressive."

The helmet turned curtly to the Police Chief. "And often aggression is the best way to get the answers needed. Now tell me, boy, if they were the orphans."

"Where's Commander Vash?" he asked defiantly, surprised by his own bravery.

Father looked away, but the chrome man spoke metallically, "He has been disposed and replaced by me. My name is Captain Bragg." A gloved hand reached out and placed itself on his chest ever so lightly, and suddenly he was desperately wanting Father's hand back on him instead. "Now… the intruders."

"I don't know who they were," he said as strongly as he could. Every ounce of logic in his body was telling him to just give up the orphans, that this man was trouble- but he couldn't give them up like that.

"You swear?"

"I do."

Bragg removed the hand. "Come with me."

"I- well, I just finished resting," he stammered, not wanting to go anywhere with Bragg.

"Yes, you just finished." He walked out of the room without a word, and Father quickly came to his side.

"Just get up," he cajoled. "Come on, Lysander. He just wants to ask a few more questions-"

"What happened to Uncle Vash?" he whispered.

Father's mouth opened and closed, then the lips formed a bloodless line. "He's been replaced," he said dully. "With a less… orthodox being. Now let's not keep the Captain waiting."

 **Magnus Iscander**

 **XXX**

"Can we talk?"

He shrugged, moved over on the couch. They were alone in the house; Kennex had taken the rest out to Folen's office. Apparently, the young man Sanjin had gone missing, and the original miners were trying to find him. Chief Folen had promised help, and an assembly was to be held.

Magnus had never been fond of the addled Sanjin, who always spouted nonsense of hidden treasures beneath their feet and mystical stories of the Crist, who lived out in the wild mountains. Gallis hugged him off, and then the three were gone.

Leaving him and Cecilia. "What's on your mind?"

"Why do you want to be a stormtrooper so bad?" she asked as she sat on the couch next to him, brushing her cleaned hair back.

"You already know," he said, confused. "I've said many times before. Just something organized, orderly, and powerful. Not to mention patriotic." He sat down the _Imperial Handbook_ he had been reading. "Not that I would at this point. I have the feeling we'll finally get off of Ommas soon."

She blinked. "Really?"

He shrugged again, smiling internally at her surprise. "Yeah, just a… I don't know, a weird feeling in my head."

Cecilia gave a short laugh. "You and your brother always have those strange foresights. I hope this one's right… but that's now where I was going with this."

"Oh? Where then?"

"That's what you tell the rest of us. But why do you really want to join?"

His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, you want the excitement, don't you? Even if Argos is just a shell of what the Empire used to be, the stormtrooper corps get to go places. See worlds, fight battles, win wars and bring glory to the nation." She drew in closer. "You want adventure. You're thirsty for action."

"I don't know about that." _How's she guessing this? I've always kept my intentions well hidden, even from Gallis at times…_

She laughed again. "I think you do," she said playfully, turning and kicking back sideways on their old couch. Her legs crossed and came to rest on of his thighs. "Why don't you like being honest?"

"I am."

"No, you're not. You've always hiding something from the rest of us, ever since Kennex took you in to join us. Just say it, we're all alone here. I won't tell anyone- you can trust me."

"Is that it? You just wanna know what my big secret is?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yeah. Yeah I do."

"Why?"

"I don't like big mysterious guys. Especially when you're with them for many years."

He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, feeling the muscles ripple. He needed to diffuse the situation here without it being obvious, or she would just pester him for a millenia… and at the same time, he wanted to know what had brought on the sudden curiosity.

 _Could Gallis have told her? No, he wouldn't be weak-willed enough to, even if he likes her…_

"Well, are you going to say it?" she said impatiently, pressing down on his thighs.

He grunted and stood up, pushing her off him. "Don't think tonight's the night," he said breezily. "Besides, there's not even a secret-"

"Oh, so when did it become public you were gonna kill someone?"

He stopped entirely, then turned around. She was watching him with the same playful smile on her face, but her arms were crossed and her eyes just slightly wary. _Why do the quieter people always look so innocent?_ He thought savagely. _And the ones you care about so weak-willed?_

"Gallis told you."

"Yeah, when we went to go for a walk-"

"Did you force it out of him? Or did he tell you because he couldn't hold a secret?"

"No- I asked him to tell me- _look_ ," she cried, starting to look irritated. "Why is this such a big thing? I'm not even trying to accuse you-"

"Not a big thing?" He laughed wildly. "What might the others think? Kennex, Adelia, Lysander? Lysander- don't you think he'd tell his father? The _chief of police_?" He shook his head, disgusted. "Why do you have to butt into everything?"

"I'm not!" she said hotly. "I want to help you!"

Of everything he was expecting, that was not it. The anger suddenly left him, and when he spoke it was oddly calm. "What? Why?"

"It's adventure, isn't it?" Cecilia said, almost desperately. "I don't want to be on Ommas anymore, and I never did. I want to see the stars, I want to live _life!_ And the galaxy is a harsh place- you and Gallis know that better than anyone. It's the one who cheated you both, isn't it? The one you want to kill?"

He remained mute, not sure whether to be angry or calm.

"I'm tired of getting shot at by stormtroopers," she said tiredly. "I want to do the shooting for a change. Running away from armored soldiers isn't excitement, robbing drunk miner's who've done us wrong isn't adventure. We've never had a calm life, but I want _more_."

Magnus laughed, surprising them both. "So you think the next best thing is to kill someone?"

"It's revenge! It's like the old children's stories Adelia and Soren used to read us- Kavala the Brave, who killed the rancor that ate her flock. Grilos the Jedi, who slew the Sith who in turn killed his Master!"

"You're after nursery rhymes for a real life fulfillment?"

She stood up and brushed her hair back angrily. "Nevermind," she snapped. "I thought you of all people would understand the urge to get away from this kriffing world, but it looks like you're just like the others. You don't really want to get off-planet, you could live here the rest of your lives and consider it a wonderful place to be!"

"Stop- I, I'm just trying to understand," he said truthfully, and he took a step towards her. She didn't move away but looked at him with despairing eyes.

"They're all we've had to look at life beyond this stupid planet," she whispered. "Soren tells the same stories, too. Adventure- that's what the galaxy promises. Just like the books about the Empire promise the glories of the corps."

Unsure, he put a hand on her shoulder. She fell against his chest, a tear or two rolling down her face onto his dirty shirt.

"And I don't want to go out there alone."

He looked down at her, bewildered, just in time to have her lips push up against his.

 **Adelia**

 **XXX**

Pacem Folen raised his hands, his lips twisted with impatience. "I understand your concerns," he said irritably. "Deputy Asinus and I will put all work into finding Sanjin-"

"He's been missing for months!" J'dor snarled, his Pantoran skin flushed. "Only now you're starting to take interest?"

"We have been dealing with crime rings in the new settlements-"

"To blazes with them!" shouted Maji, another Pantoran miner whom Adelia often spoke with at the rations line. " _We're_ the ones who are staying on this planet, working for the Alignment and Rellius! Rescue one of our own!"

Asinus cleared his throat, and in his seedy voice said, "We cannot produce results hours after we've been notified. We'll conduct our search throughout the area in conjunction with-"

"If you had listened to us, you would've known the boy has been missing for _MONTHS!"_

Gallis nudged her, and she tilted her ear toward him, her eyes on the angry Chief. "Sanjin was the one who got captured by the Crist when we were a lot younger, right?"

"Yeah," she whispered back. "Poor boy- whatever happened to him out there, it really messed with his mind. I wanted to help… but no herb I know of can cure a mind bent like his."

"Do you think he just wandered off, or something… y'know, happened to him?"

She looked down at him, and saw his forehead was creased with invisible concentration. "Why, you think there's a foul play here?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Just… just a feeling I-"

"You always say that," she said. "But what do you mean by it?"

"You guys wanna leave?" They both looked over at Kennex. It didn't seem that he had overheard them; his eyes were glazing over Folen's stage and his shoulders were slouched with boredom. "They're just spewing the same words over and over. Nothing new we would've learned in the first few half and hour."

One of the miner's in turn heard this: the bulky Kubaz, Udaren, and he huffed gutturally at them. "Sorry," Kennex said smoothly, not even knowing what the being said. "Come on guys, let's go."

They went to the station's conference room, but just as Kennex reached for the control panel, it opened by the other end. Adelia's heart pounded slightly in her chest; the expressionless chrome of Captain Bragg's helmet looked from her to Gallis to Kennex. "Good evening," he said flatly.

"Same to you," Kennex grunted, then brushed past. Adelia gave the larger being a last look, but he made no moves to stop them. Gallis followed closely behind her, and then they were in the brisk air, leaving Bragg behind in the doorway.

"He gives me the chills," she said when they were distant enough. "He just seems so unfeeling."

"He's just another Imperial," Kennex scoffed. "Good riddance they got rid of Vash, I say. The guy will be trying to grasp the reigns of a new garrison for the next couple weeks. Just means we'll have an even easier time getting by."

She shrugged, and they ambled down the path towards their hovel, the way lit up by a contingent of electric lamps. A small group of people were further down the street, on the corner that led to the Galactic Trader Market.

"Frag it, I think that's Bodey and his friends," Kennex said under his breath. "Keep to the left side of the road, keep your heads down-"

" _Oh, little kids, little kids!"_

"Too late," Gallis groaned.

The five beings came over to them; Bodey, sporting a healing black-eye from his tussle with Tusk, a haggard three-eyed Gran, two female Twi'leks, both pitch drunk and blue, and a final human male. They came around purposely in front, with the Gran still sluggishly clinging to a primitive pickaxe.

"Well, what are you three doing out so late?" Bodey inquired mopily.

"Having a stroll," Kennex said shortly. "Mind moving out of the way."

"Not really." Bodey's cohorts were making a thin wall between them and moving forward at all. "I think you're that boy who broke me and Tusk's little match. I suppose I should appreciate that."

"You should."

"But because of that, I lost the forty credits bet on me." Bodey analyzed Kennex, then struck him across the face. The Firerreo's face twisted away, but he stood his ground, the coppery hair flying. "I'm not sure I appreciate that so much."

"Get out of the way," Adelia said.

"I'll fight your little boyfriend instead," Bodey grunted. The Twi'lek women laughed and giggled as Bodey flexed his fatty muscles. "How about it, kid?"

"I'm not a _kid_." Kennex had straightened up, and he stood taller than Bodey. Still, the drunk miner didn't back away. _This needs to stop,_ Adelia thought. _Come on, why won't they let us just go back._ "You don't want to be messing with me right now, newcomer trash."

"Prove you're not one!" Bodey adopted a bizarre fighting stance. "Come on, land a hit, boy! Do it or I'll go for your slut and friend next-!"

Kennex drew back and his wrist cocked at a strange angle. Adelia couldn't see well in the darkness, but a shape, burned into her memory from the misadventure at South Tip, sprung to her mind-

" _AGHHHHH."_ Bodey was on the ground taking a knee, his right arm held up by the iron grip of Captain Bragg. Gallis stood protectively in front of Adelia as the Imperial Captain bent Bodey's arm, making the other yell in pain again.

"Disrupting the peace will start to have very serious consequences," Bragg said flatly.

"Let go of me," Bodey pleaded, his other hand trying to wrap around the forearm of the other, to loosen his grasp. Bodey's friends had quickly drawn back, letting the confrontation unfold. "Let go!"

Bragg did so, and Bodey quickly scrambled away. "Barking mad," he gasped. "Keep away from me!"

The Captain did not even seem to hear him, and had instead turned to Kennex. "Pull up your sleeves."

"What?"

"Pull up your sleeves. Now."

Kennex stared. "Why- _hey_!"

The Captain pulled up the ragged sleeves, but there was only Kennex's forearms there. Bragg seemed to have no response, and released the Firerreo.

"Sorry if my defense stance looked a little suspicious to you," Kennex said angrily. "How about a little explanation next time instead of doing whatever you please? We have rights, you know!"

"Your form was reminiscent of rookie holdout blaster moves," Bragg said emotionlessly, still looking at the angry Firerreo. "Blasters are not allowed for public distribution on Ommas. A search was necessary."

"After you did isn't what I meant." Kennex snorted, but Gallis moved to stand from in front of her to between Bragg and Kennex. "Can we go now? We didn't even want this confrontation, we just want to go home."

Bragg turned once to look at Bodey and his group, who looked fearful. "You should have no further trouble," the Captain said, then turned away.

But she barely heard it. She was staring at Kennex's back pocket, where the shape had reappeared.

That of the blaster he had used to shoot Lysander's father with. That had pierced the night, that she had no idea where he had gotten it from. No one had questioned him for long about it; Kennex had claimed he lost it during the scuffle.

But there it was. _He moved it from his sleeves to his back_ , she realized, staring at the smug grin on his face as Bragg walked back to the kiosk. _Kennex of the Stage..._

"Let's get home," Kennex said dryly.

"No complaints," Gallis said fervently. She didn't speak, and they arrived back at their hovel without any further issue.

Magnus and Cecilia were sitting on the main couch, not looking at each other. "Sorry if you were bored," Kennex said casually. "You didn't miss much- except Bodey getting his arm nearly broken by Vash's replacement." He laughed, though only Gallis gave a light chuckle. She watched as Kennex's hand casually reached to the pocket, then as the small blaster disappeared back up his sleeve.

"Oh," Magnus said. "That's interesting."

Kennex's smug expression died down, and he turned from him to Cecilia, who had barely reacted. "Something go on we should know about?" he prodded, moving towards the worn couch.

"No," Cecilia said shortly. "And I'm going to bed." She moved to the other end of the room where her cot was, and Kennex threw up his hands in dismay, gave a look of beseechment to her.

Her orange eyes just stared back. _What… are… you… doing,_ she wanted to say. If Bragg caught them, had found it- what would've happened? What was he even doing with it!

"Everyone's keeping secrets tonight, it seems," Kennex said slowly, sounding just ever so slightly angry. "Alright then. Good night to you all as well then."

 _You should talk._ But she took the cue. For the first time in years, they took to their respectful beds and cots in silence, their slumber broken only by the drunken parties of the new miners.


	17. Ep 17: The End of Games Part 1

**Lysander "Cody" Folen  
XXX**

He watched as Father paced in the station, his face screwed up with frustration. Lysander said nothing but silently held his hands clasped before him.

A knock came on the door, and Father barked, "Well?" It slid open, and Asinus came in with a shrug. "No clue where he's gone, sir. The garrison likewise has no idea."

"Did he leave them any orders?"

The deputy shrugged, figering his collar nervously. "Only to follow regular patrols and actions, and to await any further commands from him. Where he's actually gone, however, is beyond us." Asinus hesitated. "I don't wanna sound improper, Pacem, but… this really necessary? The man is the garrison head."

"And it's our job to know what the garrison head is doing," Father said curtly. He came over to Lysander and came down on a knee. "You need to do me a favor, son. Can you do that?"

He nodded his head, and Father gave a small smile. "You're going to stay in the Captain's office, okay? And I need you to… look through it."

"Wh- no!" _Don't take me back there…_

"I need someone I can trust to tell me if Bragg returns. Here, use this comlink." He forced a small black device into his son's head, then pulled him to his feet. Lysander looked imploringly at his Father, but he was back to Asinus. "You and I are going to check the plastoid export. Tell the garrison we are only doing our own patrol."

Asinus gave a dumb look. "Wha- you think something's up, then?"

"I don't know." Lysander, with however little attention his Father had given him, still knew the older Folen very well. He was a determined, vigilant, and dutiful person whose decisions always tried to help. And he was _always_ confident in those decisions.

Not right now. One hand on his son's wrist, the other on the butt of his DT-29. They exited out the station, steering his son towards the garrison. "Warm up the speeder," he said to Asinus, and the deputy moved to the speeder garage.

The stormtrooper at the desk stopped them briefly. "Chief, what's the issue here?"

"Nothing, T-12," Father said swiftly. "I want my boy to be under proper care, is all. Asinus and I are going to help the garrison out today with some patrols."

T-12 gave a note of affirmation. "Where are you putting your boy?" he asked kindly behind the digitization.

"Captain's quarters?"

"Ah… I'm not sure-"

"He was there all the time when Vash was in command," Father said with a bite of impatience. Lysander didn't understand the anxiety, but he sure felt it. _Maybe it would be better to be in there after all._

Though, of course, being with the others would be the optimal solution. He was getting tired of being shunted around like supplies- by his own Father, of all things.

The door opened down the hall with T-12 motioning them down. When they got at the doorway, his Father knelt down again, putting him a little below his son's chin. Lysander brushed his hair back nervously. "Why are you so anxious about this, Dad?"

"I don't trust Captain Bragg," hs said shortly. "Now, if he comes back here all is well. Call me on the comlink I gave you, and I'll be here before you know it-"

"You're scaring me."

Chief Folen gave a sigh to his son. "Just stay put, look through it all, and everything will be fine," he said, then did something he had rarely done. He kissed his son's forehead, then said, "Stay in this room."

Then he was gone, hitting the door control and leaving him very alone. He turned around and was surprised to see it in a state of madness.

The cabinets were all open, their contents of datapads, old papers and folders scattered about like giant flat snow. Great bolded titles Vash had gone lengths to create and organize now resembled that of a child's bedroom. The desk was a flourish of datapads, wires, and a burnt lamp. Not having anywhere else to go, he went behind it.

A brand new, sleek black model was on the desk, filled with wires.. He tapped it, but it did nothing. Ignoring it, he turned to the others. They came to life: the first one read _Imperial Dossier: Ommas Population._ However, the codes kept it locked, and he moved on. A second he recognized: Vash's personal datapad, that he had once told Lysander he liked to write his thoughts into it. However, as he tried to open it, he found that it seemed damaged. All the cables from the newer pad were jammed into it, and he decided to leave it be.

The next, a very worn out datapad fizzled to life: it was already unlocked, or perhaps it had been never born one. It bore a simple letter between Vash and Grand Moff Rannd when the latter had still controlled the Sector. _Why would Bragg be going through all this?_ he wondered. Speaking of Bragg…

He turned to where Bragg had held his strange blade when he had interrogated him. It was absent now, but a folder was there instead. Tentatively, he went over it.

It was Commander Vash's report of when he had caught Kennex's group in the Market. He scanned through it- there was no mention of names, just "the thieves." Likewise, he had never mentioned Lysander…

Sympathy flooded for the old Commander, who had ruffled his hair, taken him on speeder rides, and shown him how to shoot. Wherever he had been deployed to, he hoped he was enjoying himself. Would he remember the little boy he called Cody…?

A fat "X" was smeared across the paper in primitive ink. _Bragg_ , he thought. _But why is it crossed out?_ He looked back at the mess, of the papers scattered everywhere, as if the Captain had looked at the titles, not found what he was looking for, and discarded them. _Looking for something… this document… but it wasn't what he wanted._

He went back around to the other side of the desk and picked up Vash's personal datapad. " _Replaced… with a less orthodox being."_ Father's words, right before he had been taken into this very office, where Bragg had harassed, manipulated, and caressed as much information as he could from him.

He regretted it. He didn't even remember everything he had said, but he knew it wasn't good.

Coldness rushed down the side of his nose; a tear, and he shivered, choked it back. Vash had never treated him like that, neither had Father. How many times had he walked into this office and found warmth and comfort, even if he had been dragged into it?

 _Vash wouldn't have sold out his comrades_ , he thought furiously. _Neither would Kennex, or Adelia , or any of them! I'm such a tool…_

He took up Vash's personal datapad and tried to activate it again. The thin screen blinked to life this time, and found that it didn't require a passcode- which he immediately found odd. He looked at the wires, all hooked into the newer datapad...

The screen was logged onto the same date had made the official document. Except it was his take on the events. _Another long day of waiting, but I've deduced a pattern. The perpetrators will be in the Galactic Market, entire garrison deployed to catch and detain, though I already have an idea…_

And more: _As I suspected. The children, just trying to stay alive in this miserable town, on this miserable planet. I couldn't take them in, not when only one is of age- and happens to be their leader. And… the most unwelcome surprise. Why would he be with them? These children only cause mischief and trouble for us, however desperate their plight. I'll keep an eye on them, for our own safety. Remember to restrain information from Folen, the news will be too much._

He was crying. Where was Vash? Somehow, he had the gut feeling that Vash had not been given a different position. Even if this wasn't the last thing he had written, it certainly felt like some sort of goodbye letter to him.

 _This is wrong._ He set the datapad down. Someone- Bragg, it was obvious- had broken into Vash's personal records. He knew about-

Fear filled his heart. Suddenly, the fear for Vash was turning into fear for his friends. Would Bragg try and arrest the orphans?

Would he kill them?

 _No-_ "Dad!" he thumbed the comlink. "DAD!"

Static greeted him, and he swore viciously. It was a dud- Father ha given him a fake one! _You shut me out like I'm not even here_ , he thought savagely. _You kriffing-_

He swallowed the words. They couldn't even begin to describe his rapidly building frustration. He was trapped in here, no way to get to the orphans in time on foot-

 _Foot._ Slowly, he looked back down at the desk. The main drawer was still closed, but its lock broken. Gingerly, he opened it- and it was still there.

 _Hang on guys_. _I'm coming._

 **Kennex**

 **XXX**

The mood of his followers was still chilly as they all awoke. Kennex eyed them all thoughtfully, trying to deduce what was going on in everyone's heads. Magnus and Cecilia definitely had a strange, awkward air between the two of them. Gallis likewise seemed weary of Cecilia, but that had been around since their misadventure a few nights before…

Adelia was avoiding him completely.

"Let's do something today," Kennex said in his smoothest tone as they all ate meals of dried vegetables and dehydrated breads. "A hike to the mountains or to the Moonless Pool- something to get us moving."

"I'll skip on it," Magnus said with forced politeness. Kennex shook his head. "I want everyone to come. We keep seperating ourselves-"

"I don't really feel like it either," Adelia said carefully, but the female Duro avoided his look if disbelief. She _never_ went against him-

Kennex put down his scraps. "Well, we're doing something," he declared. "I don't want us cooped up inside here. A good raid will get us rolling."

No one responded. "Look," he said with strained patience. "This is exactly what's bringing us to this mood- we keep doing our own things, just listen to me and let's do something together as a gang"

"Ever occur to you we _want_ to do our own things," Cecilia said, her blue hair cascaded recklessly around her, not at all the lovely way it was normally held down.

Kennex opened his mouth to berate her, but Magnus said shortly, "No, you just want us to do your way."

"That's not true at all!" she hissed, throwing her plate at him. It him him in the cheek, making him stand and look at her threateningly-

"ENOUGH!" Kennex shouted, rising to his feet himself. "We're going out- _NOW_!" To make his point, he walked to the door. "Everyone get up," he snarled, needle teeth gnashing in his mouth- how _dare_ they stand up to him, their dutiful leader?

Gallis eyes widened. "Kennex-"

"Shut up, Gallis," he snarled again. "Everyone, up, and I mean it!"

He opened the door-

Captain Bragg looked down at him. Kennex's insides twisted uncomfortably as he looked up at the taller person, but as he spoke he quickly returned calm to his tone. "Can I help you, Captain?"

"I would like to come inside."

Kennex looked behind him; Magnus and Adelia were hastily stuffing the bag of stolen explosives, which Adelia had been using as a cushion, under the couch.

"I can't let you do that right now. What's the issue right now, Capt-?"

"I want to come in." And he lifted an arm to push Kennex aside, but he refused to budge, however strong the armored hand was.

"We have the right to refuse entry," he said stiffly, getting annoyed now. "Sorry, _Captain_."

"Then let me make this more clear for you." The armored hand grabbed his wrist, and suddenly squeezed. Kennex cried out, his other arm coming up the grab the chrome, but his fingers barely wrapped around the top half. The pain brought him to his knees; somehow, he knew exactly where the Firerreo pressure point in the wrist were.

The others got to their feet in an uproar, but Bragg stared them down glacially. "You are all under arrest for robberies in Cindra that have occurred for the past decade, as well as the recent break into the Garrison."

They all stared in shock; Kennex slammed his hand down on the armor, and Bragg finally released him. "You're mad," he spat between his teeth, feeling his fighting nails strain painfully at his fingertips. His teeth, likewise, were threatening to sharpen into a lethality stage. "There's no proof-"

"I have all the proof I need," Bragg said metallically. "Vash has records and proof of your thievery attempt at the Galactic Trader Market. Every past incident can be concluded to be done by you."

"That's not how Imperial Justice System works," Magnus said defiantly, stepping forward to stand before Bragg. "It's strictly dictated that evidence must be given for _all_ accusations, not to mention you don't even have proof for _this_ one-"

"This is not the Empire."

"This is an Imperial successor state!"

"And I am not Imperial." Bragg stepped into the room, making everyone tense up. "I will give you all the choice to come quietly. I do not want to kill you."

The finality in his tone filled Kennex with panic. Did he actually have proof? What was going on here?

"Look, Captain, let's not be hasty here," he said steadily. He got to his feet and put a hesitant hand between the Captain and Magnus. "We can talk something out here, can't we? Let's be civilized people here. You grab your roof, and we grab our defense and… and…"

The impassive look of the teardrop helmet was somehow more intimidating than Vash's most disarming glare. _Come on, Kennex! Don't let him scare you off._

"You are all coming with me. And bring the bag of explosives you stole from the garrison with you."

"We don't have them," Gallis whispered, just barely audible.

"I am not Commander Vash. I will not tolerate delays, games, or diversions. I know you have them. I know you are guilty. File out the door, slowly."

Desperation clouded him. _He… he can't be serious! He's not even being reasonable here._ "Ah…"

But the chrome captain didn't let him finish. He took three long strides into the room, shoving past Magnus to wrap a hand around Cecilia's wrist.

She screamed.

"Let her go!" Magnus shouted. He reached for Bragg, but his other arm came and hit him in the throat. The young man fell to his knees, retching.

"Out the door. Now." Like some sort of machine, he began to pull Cecilia out, who screamed in pain again.

"Bragg!" Kennex got into the doorway, blocking the large man. "It- it was us, alright, I admit it!"

"Kennex!" Adelia cried.

"Shut up!" he hissed. Bragg had stopped, and looked down at him from the abyssal depths of the eye sockets. "Captain, we're sentient beings here- clearly high-thinking intellectuals. We'll turn ourselves in, but we get a fair trial. All evidence put on display, no tricks, no sneaks like this-"

Bragg pulled Cecilia in front of him. "You are the only one of age, the rest are below adulthood," Bragg said flatly. "You will be the only one put on trial. The rest will be taken to a special stormtrooper program."

"Offplanet."

Cecilia and Magnus's eyes flashed, while Adelia and Gallis suddenly looked ill. Kennex's blood ran cold, and his mouth was suddenly dry. "Wait-"

"Move."

"No, you're not doing this!" Kennex spread his arms, sweat pouring from his matted coppery hair. "I- I won't let you do this!"

And whatever possessed him to do it, he reached for Cecilia's arm.

Bragg shoved her forward, bowling him over. His movements were a blr, they were so refined and practiced. His fingers wrapped around the handle of something on his back-

" _STOP!"_ Adelia shouted- too late to come to his side.

Something long, shiny, and grey came from his back, and then it was coming for Kennex's head. He tried to bring Cecilia up in front of him as terror enveloped his thoughts, but he was much to slow.

It met his head, and darkness followed.

 **Gallis Iscander**

 **XXX**

Cecilia was screaming, Magnus was staring open-mouthed in shock, Adelia's blue skin was turning a sickly grey-

Kennex collapsed, like a doornail as the blade reverberated off his head. Not decapitated; the flat edge of the sword, Gallis guessed, had hit him.

Hopefully on purpose. He didn't want to guess Bragg would give them the same treatment.

Cecilia scrambled away, but Bragg swiftly locked his arm around her in his free hand. "Stay." He turned to the rest of them. "Up. Move. And you-" He pointed to Magnus with the hand holding the blade. "Pick him up. You're strong, you can do it."

Hesitantly, Magnus came forward. The blade was ridiculously large, perhaps four foot. And yet Bragg clutched it without issue in one hand. The material was decidedly alien, but that was the least of his concerns right now.

His brother hoisted up the defeated Kennex. "Out you all go," Bragg said in the weird flat voice.

Gallis approached, his legs refusing and his heart pumping harshly in his chest. This was a dream, it had to be-

 _I knew he was coming. The danger… I should've said something._ He would learn to take the strange sensations more seriously.

If they had another chance after this.

With a grunt, Kennex was hoisted into the air, his arms lolling. Gallis frowned- something seemed to be falling from his sleeve-

Adelia flashed forward, and Bragg seemed too surprised to act. She caught the object as it fell, shoving Magnus forward.

Cecilia screamed again as Bragg rose the blade again. Gallis stared in horror; would he cut Adelia down? _I have to do something!_ With a roar, he rushed forward and put his whole weight against Bragg's back as a push.

He mine as well have thrown a pebble. Bragg's helmet turned to look down at him, and Gallis suddenly had a wide-eyed view of the grey blade, hovering above his face-

Red light illuminated all of them, even with the sunlight filtering in. The sword slipped from Bragg's hand as he stumbled backward. Gallis dove out of the way as the chrome giant fell.

"Gah…." Bragg rolled on the ground, clutching a charred area of armor in his side that smoked and filled the room with an acidic smell.

They all turned to Adelia. Her hands shakily held the blaster pistol that had fallen from Kennex's sleeve- the same one, Gallis remembered blearily, from the depths of the mine.

"How did you-" Magnus began hoarsely.

But Adelia didn't seem to be able to talk. "Move," she whispered, her voice strangled by perhaps fear. "Move!"

They stumbled from their hovel, into the street, with nowhere to go but away from there.

 **XXX**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

The comm flared to life, just as he was nearing the orphan's house. The drunkard Bodey claimed to have heard blasterfire, and it filled Folen with dread as he had turned away from the South Tip mine back to the town.

 _If he's hurt any of these people, I swear-_

"Check your blaster is charged, Asinus," he grunted, turning the speeder sharply down the road. The deputy nodded dumbly, pulling out the little blaster had had never fired. It's muzzle still bore the shiny paint given to it, not chipped or burned away from the weapon's first shots.

But then the speeder comm was crackling to life. There was only one person who was tuned into the frequency.

"Cindra Garrison, we have a group of five criminals attempting to flee the town," Bragg's staticy voice came through. He sounded labored, which was strange to Folen. "You may know them already; five orphan children, three humans, one near-Human, and one Duro. Capture them alive- set weapons to stun. Converge on New Settlement sections and seal off."

"And Chief Folen- I need a pickup. You know where."

Folen swore viciously, increasing speed so that dirt kicked up behind them. Asinus clung on, but watched as they went past the hovel of the orphans. Bragg's chrome armor appeared out the doorway as they passed, staring.

"Chief, shouldn't we be going back for him?!"

"We're getting those kids first," Folen said, steel in his tone. "And when we do, we're having a _very_ sharp talk with our esteemed Captain. Now, start looking down these streets; you know what they look like."


	18. Ep 18: The End of Games Part 2

**Gallis Iscander  
XXX**

They twisted through the narrow streets like blind beings; the disheveled hovels of random materials, the colored tents, the sitting grounds all acted as walls to their path for escape.

"Magnus!" Gallis whirled around; his brother was laboring behind, Kennex's limp body draped over his shoulders. Gallis hoped with every fiber of his being he wasn't dying- or dead already. He felt sick to his stomach with their predicament, anything more would push him over the edge-

Adelia pointed a shaky blue finger. "I think we should go that way-"

"I don't know this part of the New Settlement," Cecilia wailed, her face bloodless with fright and rubbing the wrist Bragg had clenched. "Where- we should backtrack a little-"

"And back to Bragg?" Magnus hissed. "No, just… I, where… just keep going-"

They began running again, the streets devoid of life, seeking only to get away However, it only took them a minute to hear it.

"Walkers," Adelia groaned. "And I think I hear stormtroopers-"

"Guess you should've aimed a little higher," Magnus said, his voice cracking. "He's called the garrison to enclose us."

Gallis slumped against one the decrepit hovels, wanting only to catch his breath. Cecilia likewise did so, tears streaking down her face. Never had he seen the others so distraught…

The emptiness seemed to fill him, and he felt hollow, wavy, uncertain. Would the stormtroopers gun them down when they found them? Or wouldl they be captured, only for Bragg to kill them himself? Each though sent an icy chill through him in the hot Sun…

"We need to keep moving," Magnus berated them, his voice cracking with exhaustion again. Even as the words left his lips, he fell to a knee with a half- gasp, half-sigh, unable to bear the weight of the unconscious Firerreo. His tanned skin was shiny with sweat, his muscles trembling with exertion. They had not anticipated the heat of today to impede them-

 _We didn't anticipate any of this. Does Bragg even have proof, or is it just on a hunch?_

The clanking of one of the scout walkers made them all look at each other in fear, and they slunk behind the hovel. The sounds of rushing boots came soon after, the walker having thinly concealed their sound. The three stormtroopers rushed past, their rifles held aloft. Even if they had always technically been on the run from them, the sight of the stormtroopers patrolling Cindra had normally been warming to him.

Now, they filled him with dread. _Where did we go wrong?_

 _Don't think like that!_ A small but firm voice said in his mind. _You need to help yourself and the others out of this!_

 _How_! He thought miserably to himself. _This is just cat and mouse, there's nowhere to run-_

 _You know how. Now's the time for you to use it, and not the other way around._

He looked at the others. Adelia was trying to check the charge on the blaster pistol, but clearly she had no idea how it worked, her fingers running over it like some sort of foreign trinket. Magnus eyed it, perhaps knowing how it worked, but too hopeless or tired to take it into his own hands. Cecilia stared straight ahead, her knees held to her chest, glimmer of tears in her eyes-

Gallis took a calming breath. _Okay, uh, special power whatever you are. Help me out here, come on…_

Nothing happened, and he clenched his teeth. _Come on… when I need you most?_

 _Something_ was around him. The strange sensation- he just didn't know what to do with it, per say…

"Gallis?" Magnus was trying to talk to him urgently, but Gallis refused to answer, biting his lip so hard it split. _How do I use you, come on, come on!_

The clanking of the AT-ST was back, as was the whine of a speeder. Chief Folen had joined in hunting them, and despair filled him once more…

"This way." He was on his feet, one hand grabbing Cecilia by her other wrist and bringing her to her feet with surprising strength.

"Gallis, where are you leading us?" Adelia asked in bewilderment, apparently relieved for a moment to stop with the blaster. Magnus hoisted Kennex up again, looking at his brother with a quizzical look.

"Don't ask me how, but I think I can find us a safe route past the Imperials," he said, his voice rasping. Talking and maintaining the flow of power wasn't exactly exhausting, but keeping the concentration of both was making his mind ache. "Come on, quickly!"

He checked the street; it looked clear, but he knew it wasn't. "We'll need to go over the fencing and past the other hovels," he told them. He hopped the low fence quickly, while they hesitantly followed. Magnus hoisted Kennex over, where Adelia and Gallis held him as the older Iscander also came over.

Then they were running. He stopped them twice, miraculously, as stormtroopers passed by, sweeping through the hovels now, knowing they had to be hiding near them…

"We can get to the Moonless Pool, I think. From there we can catch our breath and figure out what to do," he said tersely, knowing full well none of them had any idea what to do with their home being taken under them. But he couldn't allow despair to fill him to that point, only enough to the point of desperate concentration…

The edge of the Miner Settlement could be seen only one more street over, but an AT-ST seemed to be keeping a stationary watch over it. Gallis glanced behind them; everyone was breathing hard, but they looked to him with hope. Magnus gave a nod of encouragement; maybe he could feel what Gallis was doing, or maybe it was just simple brotherly trust.

Either was suitable to him. Sweat running from his head, he waited until the AT-ST cockpit had veered away from their line of sight before calling, "Get ready!"

"It'll turn back before we can make it!" Adelia cried, but Gallis was already moving-

The whine of a speeder brought the impulse to stop in the street, but he managed to roll out of the way of the incoming vessel. But even as it came to a stop, he was already clambering in, relief swamping his aching muscles and mind.

"You know, when I had the idea to come rescue you guys," Lysander Folen said with a tone of disbelief. "I thought _I_ would be the one telling you guys to get in."

 **Lysander Folen**

 **XXX**

He waved good naturedly up at the scout walker, feeling his face redden with embarrassment. "Are you all in yet?' he hissed out the corner of his mouth, still waving and feeling like a fool. The face of the walker looked at him a moment longer before flashing this searchlights twice- the sign of recognition, Vash had taught him- before it swiveled away.

 _Just like you taught me how to pilot these older speeders._ He was finding himself finding Vash's disappearance more and more crippling to him...

"All in," Magnus said hoarsely. Lysander didn't even look around to be sure they were all in; he put his boot to the acceleration and the speeder jolted slightly before moving forward. It passed the AT-ST, and when nothing else happened, he finally shouted, "What the _kriffing_ hell are you guys doing? Why's Adelia got that pistol, why is Kennex looking like he-?"

"Just drive," Gallis gasped, clambering up into the front seat. Lysander looked to him for instructions, but Gallis simply slumped, looking utterly ill. The police chief's son's body shook with a chill as he finally got a look at all of them. Each and everyone one of them had a transfixed look of panic and anxiety build into their faces. Even Adelia's normally unreadable Duro's face had a paleness to it.

 _I was almost too late._ "You're lucky I came when I did," he said instead, wanting to bolster the mood. He wished he could dress lighter; but he also didn't think that if the stormtroopers saw him driving the orphans away, it wouldn't do well for him when he returned. He wrapped the headscarf around his face like Magnus and Cecilia had done in the garrison, acutely aware he wasn't getting any responses. "Where should I take you guys? You need to lie low for a while."

He didn't have the heart to tell them any hope for redemption was gone at this point. Not with Vash's incriminating private notes. "Guys?"

"Away from here," Magnus wheezed from the backseat.

"That doesn't tell me-"

"HEY!" Lysander whipped around and quickly swerved the speeder away from the stormtroopers in the road. An AT-ST stood off to the side with more stormtroopers waiting in the shade it provided. He slowed to a stop-

And quickly realized what trouble they were in. Father's speeder- the _real_ police speeder was parked right there, with Captain Bragg right next to it-

Without thinking, his foot hit the acceleration again, completely bowling over the stormtrooper who had stopped him. "STOP THAT SPEEDER!" Lysande heard the trooper shout, and quickly the loud cannonade of a heavy blaster cannon as the walker fired. The bolt went over their heads, and it caused him to floor the backup speeder. Dirt kicked up with the speed, but it gave him relief the speeder's outdated targeting system wouldn't track them.

But it didn't stop it from trying. The stormtroopers fired as well, and more bolts went past them, making Cecilia scream, "Go faster!"

"I'm trying!" He gunned it more, and the speeder's engine gave a low groan of protest. Lysander didn't know the last time it had ever gone out, or when it had even been worked on. It was an old Sorosuub V-35, with the three engine turbines behind the sharp, pointed cockpit.

And if he had never driven this speeder before, he knew it wasn't supposed to make the sound it was making.

Magnus seemed in agreement. "It supposed to sound like it's ripping itself apart, or is that just a thing with these models?" he called forward.

"You gonna complain?" he shouted back, the whine of the engine almost drowning him out.

Another heavy cannon shot came from the AT-ST, but it wasn't even remotely close this time, only making him flinch. "The Moonless Lake," he decided, looking back at Magnus, who he took to be the most sensible right now. "I'll…. I'll take you guys there, make it seem like you forced me to drive you…"

Magnus nodded, perhaps only seeing the words on his lips and not hearing them.

Lysander frowned. That wasn't just their engines making the noise…

A red blaster shot glanced off the thin metal covering of the engine, reflecting off into the windshield and cracking it into a many winged star. He swerved, suddenly unable to see-

A second shot, this time sounding much closer, shattered it completely. "It's Bragg- and your Father," Magnus shouted, putting down the blaster pistol he had taken off Adelia. "Better punch it, Lysander."

"My _Father_ -?"

He turned around; the real speeder was there, indeed, hot on their tails and slowly catching speed. He could not see Asinus inside; Bragg half-stood in the passenger seat, his blaster rifle held in his hands, aiming down the sights at them-

He jerked the controls left as another burst of red light left the barrel, and it thudded into the sand. Again he swerved and swerved, sweat threatening to cloud his eyes. Or maybe it was the air rushing into his eyes without the windshield to protect them-

 **Magnus Iscander**

 **XXX**

Adelia attempted to comfort Cecilia in the backseat, while Gallis slumped in the front, looking on the verge of fainting.

He knew he had used whatever sense it was they had. It worried him even more than their predicament right now.

Bragg, maybe growing tired of precision, began raining a flurry of bolts at them. Lysander gave a yelp as one of the bolts scorched a line above the speeder roofing, then turned the speeder a hard left while the red followed them like some sort of sentient beast-

The pistol was in his hands. Did he dare use it? He didn't see much choice.

"They've followed us all the way to the Lake!" Lysander cried. "I- I'll take us further, just need to shake them-"

He was trying to put calm into his voice, and failing miserably. He was too afraid, like the rest of them. Magnus admired he had come to their rescue, but he was rapidly becoming a bundle of fear like Cecilia and Adelia. Kennex flopped about uselessly in the cargo hold of the speeder.

Not much choice at all.

"I'm gonna shoot them!"

" _WHAT!_ That's my Father and the garrison commander-"

"And right now they're trying to shoot us!" Magnus snapped back. "Try and go straight, it's hard enough to aim with you jerking the wheel."

"Well sorry for trying to avoid us from getting blasted!" Lysander shouted back, his composure slipping. "I just wanted to get you guys out of here, not get in a shoutout!"

 _Come on, focus. If Gallis can do it, you can, too._ He drowned out Lysander's anxious, unanswered cries. But he was straightening the speeder. He could see Bragg reloading as he crouched back down-

He looked down the blaster pistol's sight and put off one shot- the blaster vibrated and gave off heat in his hands, but he clung on. It was an almost welcoming warmth, as if it were grateful to be in capable hands-

Folen must have guessed he was holding a blaster, for the chasing speeder was already moving out of the way. It hit the sand in a puff of smoke and was quickly left behind.

And they were still gaining.

He let off two more shots, but they each missed. He swore silently to himself. _Come on, come ON! I can't miss anymore, who knows how many shots this has left-_

Bragg, finally reloaded, returned fire with a dreadful vengeance. His blasts chased him back inside the cockpit, and then there was the horrific _ZZZ-POP_ as one of the thrusters was finally punctured.

"We're gonna run out of propulsion," Lysander moaned from the front, causing Callis to finally put a hand on the other with a feeble, "Just keep going."

Brother looked to brother, and Magnus felt a lump in his throat rise. Fear for his brother brought a newer awareness, and anger that this so-called Imperial Captain would dare try and take them away from each other gave him control over it.

He peered out the window again; Bragg was lining up another shot, the chrome armor distinct in the backdrop of green fields and high mountains. He couldn't even see Cindra anymore-

 _Don't miss._ The police speeder swerved, but it was if it was in slow motion, and he could see right where it and his shot could line up. He smirked, and the shot from the pistol rang out, struck dead center of Folen's speeder. Immediately a high-pitched vibrating whine came from it and it rapidly slowed, chucking Bragg from the cockpit.

But the Captain, to his shock, recovered almost instantly. The rifle rang out again, striking their disabled thruster again as if to rub salt in the wound.

Then the helmet lost details as it became the size of a nut, then a grain of sand, then the whole body and the broken down speeder was nothing more than specks of dust on his books-

Then gone. Magnus gave a war whoop and slunk back into the cockpit of the V-35, feeling a sort of mad giddiness come over him. "That… that was fun." Cecilia, Adelia, and Gallis remained quiet, though at least they seemed to be relaxing more.

" _FUN?!_ " Lysander whipped around. "We're in a dying landspeeder kilometers past the furthest you guys have ever been, with your leader unconscious going into what's basically Crist controlled territory, and you want to say that was _FUN?!"_

Lysander slunk back behind the controls. "This might be fun to you," he said plaintively. "But I think my rescue just turned into a drive of no return."

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

 **XXX**

For a long time Bragg watched the dust trail left behind by the secondary police cruiser before he said, "I'll fix the repulsorlift generator if you hand me the parts. Then you can take us back to Cindra, Chief Folen.

Folen obliged silently, feeling that the other was a ticking time bomb ready to explode…

But no such anger came, and after a brief half-hour, the generator was back online and they were cruising back to the town as the Sun began to sink.

"I have not been afraid for many years," Bragg said suddenly, flatly, making Folen flinch. Not a word had not been spoken until now, as they neared the garrison base. And he could not find any reason why Bragg would say this, after everything that had just transpired.

"Afraid?" Folen asked, deciding to play along.

"Yes. I can feel pain, I can feel anger. But I will never know fear again, I believe. It was drilled into me."

"That's… interesting."

"There's a lot of fear in you, Chief Folen. It doesn't take a fool to see that."

His own face colored red now. "And what makes you think that, Captain? That I didn't gun down children? I know what my job requires of me, and it's not-"

"You are." Bragg looked at him from the passenger seat with those empty eye sockets of his. "At the Academy, they broke me. They break everyone, you see. You are pushed to the absolute human limit until you see death hovering before you, and you either leap forward to take it or have enough loyalty to the Order to stay. Once you have brushed sides with death, your mind either breaks or you never know fear again, for you have already suffered the worst."

Folen's fingers tightened on the steering wheel. Could he know? Or was it something that had actually happened at his Academy? "An impressive feat for you, then," he said hazardously, increasing speed to hurry up their journey to the garrison base.

Bragg gave a single nod, still looking at him. "Perhaps, seeing as I was twelve at the time."

" _Twelve?"_ He swallowed. "I… I've never heard of Imperial Academies training so vigorously at such a young age. And no remaining factions can risk training so young."

Bragg nodded again. "Not a standard Imperial procedure, no, though there were rumors of early attempts at an Academy on Arkanis-"

The speeder jerked right, but they were not near any structure. It jolted them both, making Bragg grip his seat rest to remain in it. "Have you forgotten how to pilot?" He said with a slightly angry edge through his monotone.

"No, no I just… trick of the light, I thought something was in the way." He looked at Bragg, but the other stated blankly ahead at the now visible garrison base. Did he not know? _Just a coincidence, a reference. He doesn't know. Hopefully._

"I wanted to have this talk with you, Chief Folen, is because you are a respectable, honorable man who I see some of our own qualities in. Except the fear. You still have that."

 _Our?_ "It's a basic human emotion," Folen said steadily. "It's tough to remove something so primal to us. Fight or flight, you know."

The speeder came to a halt, and Bragg got out robotically. "Flight or fight has no place with me," he said flatly. "I only fight. Superiority, dominance, and aggression. No fear. I would be interested in teaching you this; you seem to already have some knowledge-"

"I'll think on it," Folen said sharply. He was feeling queasy now. Unpleasant memories were starting to come back, ones he thought he had drowned out long ago when he had escaped Arkanis. "What do you plan to do about the orphans, now that they've escaped?"

"My apologies," the Captain said without sounding sorry at all. "As for the orphans, there is a reason I held us back. They did not 'escape.' My shot punctured their fuel cell; they will run out of steam many miles out before they understand they are in danger of being stranded. They will be left out there."

Folen stared. "My _son_ is with those kids, and you want them to stay out there to _die_!?"

"I will organize efforts to find them, but if they are not found then they will die out there, yes," Bragg said chillingly. "We have no place for dissent here any longer. Commander Vash allowed it to foster, and now we have been left with his problem. So, I have fixed it."

 _Monster. Animal. Machine._ Folen neck twisted as his frustration mounted. "If my son dies out there," he said dangerously. "I'm going to make sure you pay for it. He is _not_ a traitor, he does _not_ deserve to be out there!"

Bragg nodded and put his helmet back over his face. "As I said, we will attempt to rescue him. Now, you may go finish your rounds; the townspeople do not need to know of this incident. We were fortunate the miners were all working when this transpired. I will inform the Governor-General of our efforts here."

Between gritted teeth, he ground out, "Good night, Captain Bragg." The speeder went off a good hundred meters before he got out and vomited, falling to trembling knees.

 _Get a hold of yourself, Pacem. Arkanis is long gone and destroyed. Is the name really enough to get you like this?_

Arkanis Academy… the first time he had heard the name since he ran away from it. Could it mean something? The First Order's Academy certainly seemed to be carrying some of its deepest philosophy's. Could Commandant Hux have survived the Empire's fall?

 _But I heard he died. And the Academy is rubble. Everything about it is a distant memory or ash._

 _As it should be with you. Forget it, it's just Bragg waking up dead ghosts. And ghosts can't hurt you or Lysander._

Lysander. Would he be alright out there, all alone, with those savage children? They were harsh beings that Lysander had no place with.

The sunset dipped down, like a candle doused with wet fingers. He stopped, realizing this was the first time he had done so since before Vash had caught the children at the Galactic Trader Market. However, he could not bring himself to stay; the dying rays of light pierced him like the eyes of one seeing guilt. _I'm sorry, my love. I'll find our son, I promise. I promise._

 **XXX**

 **Thats a wrap for this first of a several part story. Hope you all have enjoyed, currently im on vacation so I'll start uploading two weeks from now or so. Have a good summer vacation and hope to see you reading here soon!**


	19. Ep: 19 Gone but not Forgotten

**What Has Gone on Before:** Twenty-three years have passed since the Battle of Endor that saw the **Galactic Empire** 's defeat at the hands of the growing **New Republic**. On the quiet mining planet **Ommas** , located in the **Argos Alignment** which lives as an Imperial successor state, a group of orphans survive by thieving from their neighbors in the town of **Cindra.** Led by the Firerreo **Kennex** ,he and **Cecilia** and the Duro **Adelia** have picked up two stranded brothers, **Gallis** and **Magnus Iscander** , and added them to their family. Together, they've survived and kept themselves from the watchful eye of Cindra's garrison commander, **Vash** , and the Chief of Police, **Pacem Folen** , with a goal of getting off planet. However, after Vash and Folen discover plastoid ore, a key component in the construction of stormtrooper armor, they shut down the mine with rumors of a ship having crashed. Gallis and Magnushelp their friends break into the mine to attempt to steal the ship. However, they are caught by Vash, as well as the Alignment's visiting leader, **Gathoren Rellius** and a strange New Republicsenate representative, **Jabor.** Jabor allows them to leave, and months pass as the mines bursts in activity, drawing in greedy, vagrant settlers. The orphans, feeling partially guilty, steal explosives from the garrison in a vain attempt to destroy the plastoid mines. The incident, however, allows Jabor to replace Vash with a new "Imperial" Captain, **Bragg** , who quickly suspected the orphans and moved to capture them. Before he could, however, Gallis was able to lead his friends to safety through unexplainable means, while Chief Folen's son **Lysander** rescued them in the police's backup speeder. Bragg managed to shoot out their speeder's engine, now leaving them stranded in Ommas' untamed mountain wilderness.

 **XXX**

 **Two weeks later**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

 **XXX**

He was waiting for the search detachment for much of the night, having delegated an incident in the Old Settlement to Asinus. The AT-ST clunked back to the garrison garage, and he eased the landspeeder over to it. A repulsor sled had slid over to the walker, it's ladder outstretched for the pilots to come out.

The Cindra Chief of Police didn't waste time. "Did you-"

"No, Chief Folen," the pilot said bluntly. "I'm sorry, but we had no luck. Again."

The pilot tapped the sled's driving stormtrooper on the shoulder to take him in, but Folen jogged t keep up with it. "You didn't find any clues to his whereabouts?" he persisted. "Footprints, encampments, anything?"

"Not since we found the wreck of the police speeder, no."

"But-"

"Look, Chief, I understand your concerns but _believe_ me, at this point I would be happy to tell you we'd found your son and the missing orphans, if only to get you to stop asking every day since it's happened." The pilot took a breath, calming himself. "Have a good night, Chief. There's just nothing more to say."

But there was more to say, there always was. Nevertheless, he nodded mechanically and gave the normal, "Thank you," before walking back to his speeder.

He had had many opportunities to look out at the sunsets, but he had not since. The right to do so, he felt had been robbed of him, along with his son.

 _I'm sorry, my love. I'll find our boy._

There was nothing more to do but pick up Asinus and return the speeder to it's own garage. The stormtroopers on permanent watch at the front of the cubed garrison gave silent nods; gone were the days of casual conversations with the young men. Captain Bragg's new training methods, it seems, were already crafting the garrison into just another obedient battalion in the wings of the Empire-

 _No, the Argos Alignment,_ he thought testily. _The Empire is long dead, and it always will be._ He had started, however, to misplace the two entities more and more lately. It wasn't only the silent stormtroopers; the town itself seemed to be growing gloomier, more sedated. Bragg had wrapped up the spice rings growing in New Settlement faster than Vash could have ever done, and the miner's seemed to know resistance would give them a worse fate than the runaway orphans.

That story hadn't stayed under wraps for long. Folen even thought Bragg himself had started the rumor, to spread silent fears into the hearts of both old and new citizens.

 _Too much like Arkanis. Too much like the Empire._ He shook his head almost immediately. _Not even close, what am I saying. Time to catch another sleepless night, Pacem…_

His thoughts were still of his numbingly empty house when a bloom of fire and smoke rose through the New Settlement, blowing his ear drums out making his eyes pop out of his boxlike, face.

 **XXX**

 **Cecilia**

The soles of their shoes and sandals felt had become indented to the shape of their feet. The tall, dark green grass became clotted in the latches of their shoes. She could hardly raise her arms to move the stomach high plants out of her way, they had grown heavy as if tied by weights.

Her throat ached, a dry spot on her tongue refused to moisten. The waterhole they had left behind five hours ago seemed more five centuries ago in the relentless Sun above them. A quick look to her left told her the others were not in any better shape. Sweat that had beaded the foreheads of Gallis, Magnus, and Lysander was not there anymore, water was so low in their bodies. Adelia seemed better; her genetics, she had claimed, allowed her to travel further than them without water.

Magnus and Gallis together dragged the motionless body of Kennex, their group leader, behind them. Adelia had deduced he was still alive, but in some sort of coma. The blow he had received from Captain Bragg had rendered him unconscious for who knew how long.

They had no medical supplies to treat him. From the ruined speeder that had traveled for three kilometers before dying completely, they had ripped off the roof canopy and placed his body on it, and now tugged him along with spare fiber cable they had found in the back, along with a pack of emergency rations, flares, some metal pipes, and a glowlamp.

No blankets. No shelters. They slept under the stars huddling close to hold as much warmth as they could in the most comfortable places they could.

She looked at Lysander, who's face dropped with exhaustion. _"The first few days will be rough_ ," he had said, trying to keep them uplifted. _"But they'll come looking for us. If we head south, we can wait by the edge of the Blackroof Forest. Vash used to tell me patrols would wait by there, because the Crist live there. It's our best chance for pickup."_

" _And what if they don't come?"_ Magnus had asked. _"What if they don't find us? What do we do?"_

" _They'll find us. And, come on! You guys have survived through worse, right?"_

The words had been uplifting then. Now, they filled her with venom towards the boy. How could _he_ know what they had been through, what they could handle? He wasn't even one of them!

"We should be able to see the edge of the Forest soon," Lysander mumbled audibly. "But why haven't we seen it already…?"

Her temper came through her mouth in a dry growl. "Maybe you led us in the wrong direction?"

"No! I- I know this is the way."

"You don't sound so sure," Adelia put in, her warm tone absent. A bad sign, but it fueled Cecilia's attitude.

"You could be leading us to a desert for all we know! And I thought you said the forest was only a week's journey- it's definitely been more than that!"

Lysander's cheeks colored with the attention. "It might've been longer on foot-"

Magnus laughed abruptly. "You think so? You're lucky I had this bring us in game and light fires when the rations ran out." A free hand waved the blaster pistol about; a check a night ago had shown it only had one blast charge left. One more shot to kill one of the giant six-legged "fatties," as Gallis had jokingly called them. They lugged remaining meat from one they had killed two days ago, it's blue color not even bothering them it tasted so heavenly in their plight.

She was about to open her mouth again when Gallis fell to his knees, his eyes gaunt. "I can't walk anymore," he said hoarsely. "I need… a rest… please… thanks…"

The exhaustion seemed to radiate out to the rest of them, and soon they had all flattened little sections of the tall grass, sitting among it and breathing quietly. Lysander had his face in his hands, looking distraught and making her feel anger fade away slightly. It wasn't his fault, not really. He had done his best to try and lead them to safety; she had expected Magnus to do so, but it became clear that once Lysander had- however small- an understanding of their surroundings, he ought to be leading them.

 _Why did you have to leave us now, Kennex._ The Firerreo lied there on the metal sheet, unmoving, unfeeling, perhaps not even breathing. Who knew?

"Fifteen minutes," Lysander said firmly. "Then we'll move again. The Forest will be there, and we can harvest food and water from it. Just… let's just have a rest, first, alright?"

Everyone grunted consent. Cecilia found herself closing her eyes, the dreams of reaching the stars coming to her even as they seemed impossible now.

 **XXX**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

The garrison was already blasting away by the time he pulled up in the police speeder. A few were helping up injured civilians caught in the opening of the attack-

"Ignore them!" He swiveled his head, saw Bragg standing in shining glory atop- to his shock- a downed scout walker. "Focus on the brutes, the injured will only grow in number until they are dealt with."

The stormtroopers hesitantly dropped the people they were helping, who cried and groaned as they went to the gravel. Folen watched with his stomach churning, remembering all too well the exercises from Arkanis-

His feet moved towards a Gotal male who's stomach had a large piece of shrapnel jutting out of it. He recognized him; Marrlew, whom had been one of the contestants at the Quickdraw Competition they had every year.

"Chief…" the Gotal gurgled.

"It's alright, let me get you out of here," Folen muttered, putting his arm under him.

"No- be-beh-"

A bezerk cry from behind, however, was the real alert for him. Curling his body into a ball he flung himself out of the way. The shiny-blue stone axe swung down into the Gotal's upper chest, making him bleat in a death cry before finally slumping away.

The cry came again, filling him with an icy chill. His hand fumbled for the DT-29 at his side as he turned to face the attacker.

The Crist. The natives of Ommas, who lived in the forests and high mountains. Declared sub-human by the Empire and continually so by the Argos Alignment. They were violent, barbaric, and not even capable of Basic-

The rest of the identification left him as the blue axe was bloodily taken out of Marrlew's corpse and swung for him again, he dragged his body across the gravel, dodging the downward blows. The Crist, light brown skin the color of Ommas's mountains with rather piercing red eyes, gave yet another throaty warble as it raised the axe for a fourth-

His hand took out the DT-29 in a flash and burned a hole through the chest, then another second later put a hole through the short neck. The Crist toppled with the cry echoing eerily from his throat, the axe toppling from his hand.

"Are you alright, Chief?" Two stormtroopers came up to him, seeing too late his struggle.

"I'm fine- how's the front?" he demanded, gesturing for them to show him to it.

"They attacked without warning," the trooper said, his digitized voice still broadcasting some terror. "TR-22 and I we're stationed on guard duty when they attacked. They hit the walker 25 was in… and…"

Blasterfire, followed by digitized cries of, "Over here! Over here!" gave the stormtrooper relief, and the blaster pistol was in Folen's hand in a flash.

Three stormtroopers, barely visible through the dense haze of smoke and rubble brought on by a freshly collapsed hovel, we're blasting away at a horde of Crist, wielding axes, swords, and what looked like slingshots.

As one, they all gave the same cry the one who had attacked Folen gave, making his bones rattle. He raised his pistol and shot one down. _Three more shots_ , he reminded himself. The downside to the DT-29's heavy power was it's pack- a six shot weapon, in which then the little blaster charges would have to be cooled. Cumbersome for some, but his large hands had grown accustomed to quickly reloading.

The two stormtroopers he arrived with shot as well, their rifles spitting flames and cutting down two more. One of the Crist swung the slingshot around in a circle and released its contents- another blue rock, but this was glowing with an internal light. Folen watched it travel until it struck the three original stormtroopers-

It detonated with the force of a thermal detonator, causing the white bodies to vanish a sapphire wave of destruction. An arm flew over Folen's head, and he forced himself to concentrate-

The Crist came for them now, running over the rubble of the hovels like crazed animals. He fired two more blasts, killing with each shot. The panicked stormtroopers backed up as they fired, taking more down, but there was still six more charging-

They were blown apart as the familiar sound of an AT-ST's concussion grenade attachment sounded. Folen breathed a sigh of relief; eight more stormtroopers and the walker had come to their rescue.

However, there didn't seem to be many more. Captain Bragg came from Folen's left, the gray smoke having dampened the glow of the armor until he was almost beside him. "The barbarians withdrew after the other two walker's arrived," he said metallically, not sounding at all concerned. "We should count ourselves fortunate."

Folen nodded hesitantly, his hands reloading the DT-29. "Why did they attack now?" he questioned. "We've co-existed for years. Why decide now.?"

"Does it matter?" Bragg turned away from him. "I want all every civilian from New Settlement taken into the Old- force relocation where possible-"

"Are you kidding me?" Folen interrupted. "There's not nearly enough living space for them all-"

"The Old Cindra has sturdier defenses and the garrison is much closer to respond to future attacks," Bragg said. "Construct barricades and I want the patrol size doubled. I then want a permanent watch of speeders and two squads at South Tip mine."

The stormtroopers hesitated, then the stormtrooper who Folen had spoken with approached. "Captain, our losses total nine deaths and fourteen injuries… that's almost a third of the entire garrison-"

Bragg drank it in, his posture betraying nothing. "I will inform Legio we will be needing a third of their regiment as well," he said at last. "My order still stands. We are under attack and must preserve the Alignment interest in Cindra- and that includes the mine."

"But-"

"You have your orders, TR-21." Bragg turned to Folen. "Walk with me."

Surprised, Folen holstered the pistol and followed the dusted Captain. He had his rifle slung over him, the blaster still smoking gently. "You have encountered these creatures before?"

They were walking through the destroyed houses, and he resisted the urge to cough. "Yes, I have."

"Under what circumstances?"

"During my first year, when I was deputy to the Chief of the time, a group of miner's became drunk and hijacked a speeder and took it to the edge of the Blackroof Forest to get wild berries that grow there." He shook his head, remembering the incident. "The Crist attacked them just as we arrived, looking for them. They killed every miner, as well as my Chief. I only escaped because I had the sense to leave when I was all alone."

Bragg nodded. He didn't seem to be following the blackened roads- instead, he was steering them to one of the ruined hovels. "So it seems outside interest sparks their violence?"

Nodding his head, he looked at Bragg. "Yes. What are you thinking?"

"Did you tell your son this story?"

His face reddened. "I'd prefer if you didn't speak of-"

"Did you?"

He took a deep breath, a calming one. "No, I didn't. Sometimes I still remember what the Crist did, and it haunts me. They're a savage people, uncultured and understanding only bloodshed." He spat on the ground before him-

And froze. Bragg finally looked at him, then down at the same spot. "It seems entirely reasonable to me," he said deftly. "That our escaped orphans sought to flee to the Blackroof Forest, unaware of the presence of the Crist there."

"And have disturbed the Crist, and sparked their wrath upon Cindra." Folen's heart raced. It was too much to handle. Lysander, perhaps in danger from those savages, and now… this?

"Their brutality here tells me that the garrison cannot hope to last, despite what conditioning I have given them already," Bragg said, almost softly- the first emotion Folen could recall besides anger. "We will need more reinforcements than Legio, do you agree?"

Folen didn't respond. Slowly, he knelt down, his hand reaching out to touch Asinus's wide-open eyelids, closing them, unsure what else to do or say.

"When you are finished mourning, I will need you back at the garrison headquarters for your expertise in constructing defenses against these barbarians."

Bragg left and walked a few paces, but Folen heard him stop. "All I can is I am thankful it was the Deputy this time, and not the Chief." Then he moved away again, and Folen did not hear him stop anymore, leaving him alone with Asinus's body.

 _Lysander_. He put his thoughts out into the open space, his hands curling into fists on Asinus's breast. _Please, come back to me._


	20. Ep 20: Caught

**XXX**

 **Gallis Iscander**

He awoke with his nose twitching and running, his throat dry and parched. His eyes were almost permanently squinted shut and the urge to itch them was nearly unbearable. "I think something bit me," he groaned aloud.

"Go back to sleep," Cecilia mumbled from somewhere to his left, though he couldn't see her. He couldn't see much of anything; everything blurred together.

"Help," he said louder, trying to stand and falling over his brother, making him sit up straight in surprise.

The others were waking up. "The hells the matter, Gallis?" Lysander asked.

"I think something bit me around the eyes, some insect," he whined, trying to rub his eyes and being temporarily relieved of the itching. It came right back, however, and Adelia's sharp voice rang out, "Stop rubbing them!"

Her tone seemed to awaken everyone up fully, and he heard Cecilia gasp. "What in the Empire happened to his face?"

 _What's wrong with my face?_ He raised a hand to feel it, and felt the itchiness now spread to his cheeks-

"Stop touching your face," Adelia snapped. "I need blackroot to bring the swelling down, and- does it itch, Gallis?"

"Yeah-"

"And Ommal flower petals with water to stop the itching."

"I'll look for the blackroot," Lysander volunteered. "Cecilia, can you help me out?"

She must have nodded, for Lysander then asked Adelia, "What's it look like?"

The Duro was gently dabbing Gallis' face with some sort of plant; Gallis felt some of the hotness fade from his face."That feels good," he moaned, the words leaving his mouth like drool. "What are you using?"

"I have my mother's medkit that she gave me," she muttered. "This is the drastvine Seron gave me- it's such a useful herb I thought it'd be good to add it. Magnus!" Both brothers jolted at the higher-pitched word. "I need you to find the Ommal flower! It's a bright red and likes to grow in this type of environment, among the grasses; bring me the whole flower!"

"Didn't you say you needed water, too?" Magnus said, exasperated. "We barely have any left-"

"Are you telling me you want your brother to have lasting injuries because you're thirsty?"

Gallis could almost _feel_ the anger ripple off of Magnus. "I'll find your kriffing flower, just keep him alright," he all but snarled, then he tore off in some direction.

From his blurred vision, he could see Adelia's orange eyes turn back to him. "Are you feeling better, now?" she asked maternally.

"It is," he said hoarsely. "That drastvine is good… is it supposed to be wet?"

"No," she grumbled. "I had to use my saliva to moisten it- stop moving away from me! It's just saliva; it's either this or your face swells to the point you can't breath!"

Gallis forced himself to relax, though he shivered at the slimy touch.

 **XXX**

 **Lysander Folen**

"Okay, okay… blackroot, blackroot. Did she even say where'd we find it?"

Cecilia shook her bushy head. "Just… uh… roots above the ground?"

He swiped some grass from his face, searhed the ground. A swarm of dull blue insects buzzed away from the carcass of some sort of mammal; none of the elusive black roots, though. The insects buzzed past his face, and he waved them away furiously, hoping none would sting lest he end up like Gallis.

"Do you think Gallis will be alright?" Cecilia asked from somewhere in the right, he could make out the color of her clothes from the forest of grass- _is it me or is the grass getting taller?_ -

"Yeah, of course. Adelia's always known what she's doing, hasn't she?"

"I guess…"

He didn't like her tone, but there was little that he could do about it when their predicament was almost entirely his fault… "Come on," he said instead. "Let's go this way, we might find some over here. Just remember which direction we've come from."

"Why should I listen to you?" she said shrilly from behind.

"Because I don't hear anyone else giving any ideas," he snapped, the tension getting to him. "Come on! The sooner we find it the sooner we can help Gallis!"

She hissed something under her breath, but he heard her following him at last, and he prayed they'd find the root soon. Moving more of the tall grass from his path, he trudged forward-

And bumped right into a tall silhouette.

 **XXX**

 **Magnus Iscander**

 _Who does she think she's talking to, making accusations like that?_

His feet stamped down the grass where it landed despite it's notable desire to remain standing, scavenging around. Blue flowers were here, and he's seen what he'd finally thought was a red one until it was revealed to be just a giant red insect that scurried away from him when he'd gotten too close. He'd never even _seen_ anything like it before, but at the moment he didn't care. All that was on his mind was helping Gallis.

 _Like Adelia doesn't already know that. I'd give up my life if it meant saving his…_

Ever since they had found themselves alone and abandoned on Ommas, their parents gone or dead, Magnus, the older brother, had carried the burden of the two. Alone, life was hard, but he'd done all he could for Gallis, to make his life comfortable. To steal the money from the unsuspecting pockets of miners, shop clerks…

His fists clenched with the memory. His anger at Adelia fused with that of the creature that betrayed them, that had stolen the credits. Unnamed, species unknown, but the young face was burned into his memory forever.

" _Sorry, kid, your credits are better in my pocket without me spending the fuel to get you off planet."_

" _B-but my brother and I-"_

" _I see what you're doin', I really do. Bein' the kind, older brother. Thing is, I don't care…"_

Hatred burned through him, and he scavenged through the grass more. _I won't let anything happen to you, Gallis, so help me. We'll get out of this…_

Finally, he spotted it- the red flower, growing along with three others next to- _that looks like the root Adelia was talking about!_ Elated, he ran forward, falling to his knees to the floor and ripping it from its roots quickly. He grasped some of the root for good measure and tugged. It resisted, and his muscles tensed as he pulled again. It finally ripped free, and he sighed in relief-

"Alright, kid, shows over."

"Is it?" he said with calmness that surprised himself as his whole body tensed again. It was coming from somewhere behind him, but even now he could see someone standing in front of him. "You bring friends for just one kid?" he called, looking to the direction he'd come from to make a break for-

The voice laughed roughly. "You could say that."

It was as he looked to the way he'd come, then the other way, and finally just looking all around that he realized he was completely surrounded.

 **XXX**

 **Adelia**

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah, you know I think so!"

"That's good." She looked down at him; the swelling was growing rapidly, his cheeks almost three times the usual size. It was a miracle he could even see out of his eyes still, the lids resembled enormous sweet beans. His neck was also starting to pulse up now, a bad sign that it was spreading. She put Seron's drastvine to his neck again, and he gave another cool sigh.

But his hand was reaching up to scratch again, and she slapped it down. "Stop it!"

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I don't feel hot anymore, but it itches like hell!"

For the tenth time she looked back at mother's med kit, knowing there was nothing in it. Back at her hovel, her collection of herbs would've solved something like this instantly. But with only the bare goods of bandages, pain relievers, and high-tech fever pills, there was nothing there. She cursed their predicament, throwing another glance to Kennex. She blamed him for this… but what good would it do if he couldn't even be around?

"Adelia?"

"Yes?"

"I can tell you're anxious. You should relax."

She looked back at him and smiled, though she was certain he couldn't tell. "I'm fine. And so are you."

Gallis nodded but his demeanor didn't change. "Alright. Then how about… what do you think about us reaching the Blackroof Forest before our supplies run out?"

Lysander's hesitancy the day before rung in her ears, but still she said, "I think so, yeah." He bit his lip and turned away. Adelia looked a moment longer, a painful knot tying itself in her stomach. _But you didn't actually know, do you? We could die out here. You might have helped us escape to our doom._ Her gaze traveled to Kennex, who remained motionless under a makeshift tent. _I wonder what you'll have to say about that, Kennex. That blaster wasn't for show, was it?_

If the other noticed her sudden hesitancy, he didn't speak on it. Gallis gave a sigh that attempted to relax. "I think I'll be okay, really. Thanks, Adelia."

She smiled and sat back, trying to get comfortable. But before she could, moving shapes came into her vision. "They're coming back," she said with a sigh of relief. "The Ommas flower will bring the swelling down- _and_ the itching."

"Thank the stars…"

Adelia stood, raising an arm urging for speed. But they continued to move at the same pace- Lysander, Cecilia, and-

 _And? No one else went with them. Magnus could've…_

Four figures. Two carrying long spears that stood a good double over Cecilia.

"Gallis-"

"I know." On his chest, his fists tightened. His relaxed face, she realized, had not been one at all; just a tight mask he had worn to shield the unexplainable knowledge he'd gained. "I know."


	21. Ep 21: The Crist

**Cecilia**

 **XXX**

They led them through the woods, which grew thicker and larger as they entered. The ground began to slope upward; they were climbing up a mountain ridge. _One of the ones Sanjin went up?_ she thought feverishly. Part of her felt dreamlike, her hands bound in a black vine, connected to the others with Lysander in the front and Magnus behind. One of them picked up Kennex and carried him over a meaty shoulder.

 _They. They. Crist._ She had heard stories of them, and it was those very stories that kept her eyes always on one of their guards. They were tall, the shortest being the same height as Magnus. Their spears, tipped with a blue shard of some sort, stood a full and a half over their leafed heads. Some sort of paint of many colors were put over their skin. The closest to her, on her right, had a stark black under his eyes like sleep bags, with tear-drop like brushes going down to his chin. Another on her right bore red circles around his eyes, but more circles going, again, down to his chin, like tears.

Bloody tears. Maybe actual blood. A story, told by the retired miner Jarrel to his grandchildren one night while the orphans had sought to raid his household, ran through her mind. Savage, marauding, primal beings who sought only to kill so that they might drink the blood of-

A firm hand caught her shoulder and steered her back in line; she had begun to lean away, and the closest Crist, the one with the black paint, put her in her place soundlessly.

She looked up at him, searching for anything in the menacing orange eyes, like Adelia's but brighter. But all she found was an unreadable, blank look back. The hand released her, however, and they continued down the cleared path they had created. She dared not speak to either Lysander or Magnus, but she knew she wouldn't gain any new information.

Not even the stormtroopers. And as much dislike as there was for them, they _were_ the law.

Or had been.

The trees suddenly thinned, and she heard Lysander in front of her mumble something that sounded like a half curse, half whimper. She peered around him-

"I'll take it from here, lads." A man lacking any of the woven, white and green garb of the Crist sauntered forward. He wore a jacket of some sort of black leather, a brown smock beneath it, with equally jetblack, flexible pants going down to his midnight shoes. A blonde, scruffy beard crawled all across his white and pink face. The only thing that resembled Crist was two dark, straight lines of paint streaming down to his chin.

He was the last thing she'd expected to see.

"Alright, lissen' up." The man pulled the five of them into a semi circle around them, while the Crist entered the clearing, from which she could see hints of some sort of settlement camp. "Yer' friend 'ere- Maggot? Magnum?- already knows me, but res' of ya' don'." He gave them a mixed yellow and white smile. "Names Thurst. Yer' gonna be alrigh'."

The face of someone from a civilized background almost brought a wave of relief to her. She felt her knees grow watery, but she made herself stay upright. The way he was dressed, his slurred speech…

"Who are you?" Magnus challenged. "You never told me _that_ when you caught me."

The man called Thurst waved a finger at him, and on it two shiny silver rings twinkled. " 'Notha time, Maggy. Now come on, I gotta take ya all to Vynus."

"Vynus?"

Thurst shrugged. "What I call him, and he seems to like it." He walked forward, his black boots leaving deep imprints on the soft, muddy ground. Lysander looked back at all of them; Adelia, at the back, gestured him forward. "We're still bound; you lead."

The other flinched at the last word, and turned his head sharply and yanked them all forward. Cecilia's shoes soon became filthy, her feet feeling squishy as mud tracked in. The ground was soaking wet, but the Crist seemed to embrace it. As they followed Thurst, she took in what she guessed was the home of their captors.

Their guards melted into a crowd of other tall Crist, their light brown skin the same shade as the woods surrounding their encampment. More shades of paint covered the faces of male and female, but she noticed they all bore the teardrop style. _Mourning?_ She wondered to herself. _At least they don't seem to be drinking blood._

Together, with Kennex still being carried by one of the Crist, they walked to a massive tree, large enough to step inside. Indeed, as they got closer she saw what looked like a cot and table inside. It's occupant, however, stood outside with two other Crist.

 _Their leader. It must be._ He looked powerfully built, and stood taller than even the others; she reasoned eight or nine feet, looking down upon Thurst with, oddly, light green eyes instead of the orange every other Crist had.

With a half-hearted bow of his head, Thurst gestured to the five of them. "Vynus, I 'ave the prisoners, as ya asked fer'." He paused. "Ah, do as ya will."

"You said we'd be alright!" Gallis said indignantly.

"I did?" Thurst shrugged, the discolored smile back. "Ah, well just the way the galaxy works, innit? Now, ya should probably listen to Vynus 'ere."

Cecilia shivered, the small relief gone like it never had been. The enormous Crist called Vynus stepped forward, a spear the width of her wrist and three times her height. The light green eyes looked at each of them in turn, and she did her best to look calm. This was worse than being caught by Vash at the Market; who knew what the Crist might do to them? Slavery? Torture?

"You are young." The words came out loud and powerful, but spoken slowly. Vynus's tongue rolled awkwardly in his mouth, and his eyebrows furrowed with what she would have guessed was annoyance. "Why do you come to our forest?"

Silence. She was shocked; she turned to see the others reaction, and saw all but Magnus, who stared at Thurst with hateful eyes, were equally surprised. Lysander tentatively asked, "Y-you speak Basic?"

"I speak your words," Vynus said heavily. "Another, young, came seasons before and helped me learn." He gestured offhandedly with his spear, swinging it about as if it weighed nothing. "He left before I learned full. But I speak." He narrowed his eyes on Lysander fully. "Why do you come to our forest?"

Lysander cleared his throat, and Cecilia inwardly groaned. She would've much preferred if Magnus or Adelia was speaking, but Adelia was remaining silent, while Magnus continued to flare silently. Thurst, for his part, looked bored with the results so far, unaware of the gaze.

But the young son of the police chief spoke clearly, calmly. "We had to run from our home. The police- guards- chased us because we were framed. We had to run, or die."

Vynus frowned his pale brown lips. "They would kill you? Young?"

"Yes. We had to run- and we came here. To hide."

It was mostly truthful; the framing was a blatant lie, they _knew_ they'd done wrong, but that was all. Bragg most certainly would've killed them had they stayed. There hadn't been much choice at all. And for Vynus's obvious basic understanding of their language, he seemed to have made the other understand well.

But the Crist leader hadn't replied yet. He continued to look down, frowning. Thurst rolled his eyes and stepped forward. "Vynus, buddy. Just send them back, ay? Don' need tha 'assle-"

"They are young. The young are precious here, Thurst. You know this."

"So you're gonna just, wha, keep 'em 'ere?"

"You'd rather throw us back out there to die?" Magnus demanded. "When you caught me, you said you'd help! I know what you are- you're just a criminal, a pirate!"

"Shut your porthole, kid," Thurst said, not even turning to look. "Ya don' want any trouble-"

Vynus held up his free hand, and Thurst subsided reluctantly. He and Magnus traded ugly looks. _Please don't start something, you hothead._

The Crist leader turned around and entered the massive trunk, and the pirate rolled his eyes. "Oh boy, 'ere we go."

"What's he doing?" Cecilia asked, her voice sounding tiny in her eyes. It didn't sound like they were going to die, but there were plenty of fates just as bad-

"Talkin' to his… 'advisor.'" Thurst spat on the ground. "'Nother one from high above. Never even seen the bloke, came here months afta' me but he gets more leverage ova' me."

"I suppose we should be grateful he has more power than you," Magnus snarled. "You basically betrayed us!"

"You should be grateful," Thurst said darkly. "He's tha' one who knew ya were out there in tha' furst place."

Cecilia stared into the depths of the tree trunk. Vynus's two bodyguards shielded most of the inside still, but she could see the massive Crist looking down at something on the cot. _Someone sick in the bed? Or maybe talking through holo?_

They stood in silence for a full painstaking minute, the sounds of the Crist settlement behind them, their language utterly incomprehensible to her. Just like the entire mess they were in.

Finally, Vynus emerged. "You will stay with us," he said slowly, not looking either pleased or annoyed. "We will help you adapt, and treat your half-dead friend. And the one with the _pourfifis._ "

"The what?" Lysander aksed.

Vynus shrugged, pointed to Gallis. "Come with me, I will treat him myself. Thurst, show the rest to a shelter."

"'Course, 'course." Thurst pulled out a small vibroblade from behind his waist, and it flicked on with a piercing yellow glow. "C'mere, ya lot. I'll remove yer bonds."

Cecilia gratefully extended her wrist, and Thurst sliced through them with some force.

"These must be tough, for you to need to apply effort," Lysander remarked. "The blade of those can cut through all sorts of things."

Thurst gave a grunt of acknowledgement while Cecilia rubbed her freed hands. The pirate- _well, I guess he might be. Smells like what I think one would at least-_ finished freeing them, ending with Magnus whom he gave a leering smile. Magnus returned with a false smile, and thanked him with a similar bow to the one he'd given Vynus.

"You, follow Vynus," Thurst grumbled to Gallis. "He'll heal you up."

Gallis looked terrified to go off on his own, and Adelia swiftly said, "I'll come with you."

"No." Vynus's deep tone rattled them all, but Adelia resolutely said, "No, I must. I need to know how to treat in the future, if something like this happens again."

"You use medecine?" Vynus questioned, for the first time sounding genuinely interested.

"Yes. I was treating him before you came. I would like to witness."

The Crist leader seemed to consider this, then nodded. "You come, then. The rest, to Thurst."

 **XXX**

 **Gallis Iscander**

 **XXX**

He followed the large Crist through their settlement, and quickly began to notice details that had escaped him before. Many of the cries he had taken to be wild cheers of some celebration were in fact not so. As Vynus steered them towards another hollowed tree, he saw that several smaller ones held wounded Crist. They wore massive leaves strained over shiny red spots on their body.

 _Were they attacked?_ Gallis wondered. _Or did they do the attacking?_

Adelia must've noticed as well, for she leaned to his ear and whispered, "It looks like they just fought a war. Maybe that's why Thurst didn't want us around."

"Thurst is learning our ways still," Vynus said, not turning around as he ducked his massive form inside the tree. "We always value young of our people- even if you are not of us, you remain important."

"How so?" Gallis asked.

"You will one day take the place of your elders. Sit here." Vynus gestured to one of three stumps, and Gallis did so. The illness he'd contracted wasn't as painful as it had been in the morning, but it still stung and burned. The puffiness in his eyes hadn't lessened either. He subconsciously raised a hand, and Adelia slapped it away. "Don't!"

Vynus turned around, holding a wooden bowl with what looked like sap inside. "Yes, do not itch," he said in his strong, if awkward tone. Gallis found he was already getting used to it. The Crist leader dabbed two fingers into the solution. "Close your eyes, boy."

He began to do so, then opened them again. "I… can't you do it with them open?"

The massive alien looked down, green eyes passive. And tried as he could, the strange little danger sense that had flared up time and time again refused to do so.

"You may trust me. Or you may continue this way."

He looked at Adelia, and she gave a small nod. Taking a deep breath, he closed them. The darkness seemed all encompassing, different than before, not knowing what was happening before him-

Cool, gooey substance smeared on his eyes, and he gasped with relief. It was as if fresh water had splashed across the afflicted area and doused the flames of irritation. Vynus applied it to his other eye, and the same feel repeated. "Oh man," he moaned. "What is this stuff, anyway?"

"The residue of a _Clissern_ \- you would call them 'bear.'"

Gallis's brow furrowed. "Residue?"

For the first time, what sounded like a rumbling laugh came from within Vynus. "Perhaps it's better you do not discover it."

Gallis squinted his eyes open, and found the puffiness was already fading. It was a strange sensation, his eyes slowly opening more and more as his skin retracted.

"Amazing," Adelia wondered. "Is it possible I can have some? Or show me the tracks of where you usually find them?"

"Yes, another healer of ours will show- when they have time." Gallis noticed his gaze traveled to the other hollowed trees and tents that houses the wounded. "Which will be soon. Hopefully." He looked back down at them, and incredibly his lips curled into a smile. Gallis found himself giving one back. "Thank you, Vynus."

The smile faded a little. "Do not get so comfortable yet, boy. There is still much to be done of you and your friends stay here. For now you are welcome- in time, we shall see."


	22. Ep 22: Ceremony of the Marked

**Review Response:**

Briarr_Rose: Thanks! Hope you continue to enjoy :)

 **XXX**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

 **XXX**

There were twenty-two people dead and another thirty wounded. Of those dead, twelve of them were stormtroopers, who Bragg had listlessly declared "weakest remnants of Vash" at the garrison assembly immediately after the Crist attack.

And Asinus. Gone too. He had personally buried him, behind the police station. Not because the man was not deserving of being placed in the normal cemetery, but that had been one of the first places sacked in the attack. What remained of his deputy would stay where he had worked.

He'd never even known whether the man even enjoyed his work. He would never know; but it was the only place he could think of putting the other.

His office was remarkably untouched, as was most of this side of the town. His house was still standing, although every window had been smashed, the walls stabbed and scarred, the furniture dismantled. Still, it wasn't like he'd been spending much time in it anyway. With Lysander gone, a haunting sensation filled him whenever he went in it, knowing he was truly alone inside its walls.

 _Was that how he felt, whenever he was left alone by his Father?_

With a shout of rage, he swept the papers and single datapad off his desk, and it all fell to the floor. The datapad's screen cracked and sparked, but he gave it little regard. He stood up and drew his blaster, and began to pace about the room, not even sure why he'd taken it out. Surely he wouldn't use it against himself- his boy was still out there, he was certain. But the need to _do_ , to _act,_ even though he couldn't-

Forty stormtroopers. That was all that was left. That had been Vash's minimal number when the town's population had been four hundred; now there was two hundred more. There was not enough manpower to protect them. He couldn't go off and search in the police cruiser-

 _An Empire is nothing without its citizens. When there is no one left to protect, what is there left to serve?_ A motto of the old Academy, drilled into his mind like a nail into wood. Random thoughts and memories from then had started to become more frequent in his head since Bragg had arrived, and even more so with Lysander's flight.

The blaster twisted and twirled in his hands, the spotless chrome smudging in hands that hadn't been washed since the attack. He turned to the mirror beside his desk. The short-brown hair was frayed at the ends, the scars more pronounced. The ceremony for the dead would be in a few hours; he figured he should wash up, at least for Asinus' sake.

But after?

" _I'll speak with you in your office."_ It had not been a question, or even a request. Simple, clear, and final. Bragg's dialect was as no-nonsense as his entire presence. It unnerved Pacem to no end; it reminded him of the Academy's more elite students…

"No more memories," he said to himself in he mirror. He ran a hand through the dirty hair, shaping it a little. The blaster reluctantly slid back into its holster. "Deal with Bragg- find Lysander. Find Lysander."

 _Ginessa… I'll find him._

 **XXX**

 **Lysander "Cody" Folen**

 **XXX**

"Y'er not built like da rest of 'em."

"Excuse me?" Lysander scowled in the direction of Thurst, sitting placidly on a smoothed rock. The sapphire-colored fire ate away at the blackroof wood between them. Night hung around them, but the camp was basked in similarly colored light from other fires being lit. Some sort of ceremony would be occuring soon, Thurst had told them. Two Crist had taken the others to get adorn in Crist attire; Lysander had been the first dressed. The vibrant white and green leaves, the smallest as big as his hand and the largest his head, hugged his civilian clothes warmly. Despite feeling rather foolish wearing basically plants, he miraculously felt rather comfortable.

Thurst seemed perfectly comfortable, even without the Crist attire. The pirate gave a half-shrug and said,"I can tell by da way ya walk. Yar not frum da streets or 'arsh life." He rubbed a hand over the freshly shaved beard, cut so close the stubble wasn't even present; Lysander wondered how he'd made such a close shave without an actual razor. "By muh guess… 'igh class, spoiled boy."

"I am not."

But the other laughed. "'Lissen, lad, ya can' 'ide it frum me. I been all o'er the galaxy, seen all sortsa people. What are ya _doin_ with these rats?"

"They're my _friends_."

"Oh-ho! Thas' why they treat ya so bad, innit? Ah, thas' right. Even I can see it." Thurst seemed to be enjoying the look of distress and anger on Lysander's face, for he leaned in and whispered conspiratiroly. "Ar, lemme take anotha guess, eh? That fella' over there-" he pointed at one of the hollowed trees, where Kennex was being tended to by a healer - "he was tha real leader, huh? Huh? Ah, I can see it. An' he _hated_ ya- ya, I see it on ya face." Thurst put on a sympathetic look. "Prolly' felt competition, lad."

"Competition?" Lysander couldn't believe what he was hearing. First accurate guesses on his feelings, now preposterous claims Kennex might've felt threatened by him?

The other kept talking, shaking his head as he spoke. "But he's gone now, ay? An' you, by some kriffin' miracle, became leader instead."

"I'm no leader," Lysander muttered. _But then why does everyone treat me like one?_

Thurst had read his mind. "Yeah, thas' why you spoke up when Vynus questioned yar group, huh? He wasn' speakin' to you, lad- wus yar name?"

Why _had_ he spoken up? He couldn't properly recall what had made him do it. Maybe it was he'd guessed no one else would; Kennex normally would've. Or maybe it was that he still wanted to spite the former, despite him not even being awake to hear him take control. He couldn't piece it together, and he could tell the others didn't like it. The look Cecilia had given him out the corner of his eye when he'd spoken to Vynus had almost made him falter. When they had been trekking, he'd spotted Magnus's dirty looks- it was Lysander who had made the executive decision to take them out this far.

 _Why do I do this to myself?_ He thought desperately. Of course, no one would answer-

"What's yar name?" Thurst said more persistently.

Lysander closed his eyes. "Lysander. My name is Lysander."

The other rolled his eyes. "Psh, come off it. Where's tha' authority ya had before?"

"Authority?" Lysander said blankly, reopening them to look at the other. "What authority?"

Thurst laughed, a warm, rumbling thing that somehow sounded reminiscent of Father. "Ha! Don' even know ya voice!" Thurst leaned in, eyes twinkling behind the blue glow. "Ya got the voice of a natural leader, Lysander, mark wha' I say. You din' 'ear it, but we all did. Da way ya spoke to Vynus, 'owever short. _Authority_. I'd know it- I 'ear it all da time frum them port authorities. Tryna' muscle me- ha! Look at me now."

"Stuck in a camp full of primitives with no way out?" Lysander said dryly. "Not sure that's much better."

But the other simply gave another half-shrug. "Neva' said anythin' 'bout that, lad. Now, get ready. Show's 'bout to begin."

"You ready, Cody?" Lysander flinched at the name- he would never forget Vash- and got up. "Glad to see you're getting acquanited with our kidnapper."

"Now, lass, I'd call it more a rescue!" Thurst said indignantly to Cecilia. "Ya'll woulda died if not fo' me!"

She crossed her arms, sidling closer to Magnus. Lysander suspected she was still very unnerved by the pirate, though Lysander could not longer see any threat now that they were living together. "You tried to get Vynus to send us away!"

Thurst scratched the back of his head, but otherwise looked unashamed. "Thas' the past now, innit? Now c'mon, time for the ceremony."

"What _is_ the ceremony?" Lysander asked, gazing over deeper into the woods where all the Crist had gone.

The pirate grinned and beckoned for the two Crist to join him. "Time for y'all to be Marked."

 **XXX**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

 **XXX**

The dead were split into two categories. J'dar, the tall, blue skinned Pantoran, spoke for citizens both original and newcomers. For the first time Pacem could recall, the new wave of miners and the former residents were holding each other in the dying sunlight, brought together by the loss of their friends and family. The town was still small; everyone had had connection to someone who'd died.

Dark, loud clouds were overhead. It rarely rained on Ommas; this was no exception, as the thunder and chains of lightning sparked dryly overhead.

But even they were rare. He felt as if something, somewhere else, was happing.

Pacem watched as Tusk the Trandoshan, his aggressive personality all but vanished, collapsed over the body of Bodey. In all their time here, Folen had never seen them do anything but fight, but now here was the evidence of something more, something he'd never even known about. _I've failed them_ , he thought. _I still don't know enough about them, not even to protect them._

An elderly looking back left his wife and children's side to go up to Tusk, placing a hand on the others shoulder. Pacem's hand dropped to his blaster, expecting retaliation, but Tusk continued to hiss and howl. Eventually, he got off Bodey, and they committed the dead man to the ground.

Away from the citizenry, the stormtrooper garrison stood solemn, in uniform, unmoving and seemingly unfeeling.

"Weak." Bragg paced in front of them, his enormous sword strapped to his back, his blaster held loosely in one hand. The gray clouds of the storm groaned above him, as if they, too, were angered. "They were weak; the sorrow of the peasants are born from the failure of these few. You would do well to hear their wailing, and strive never to hear it again."

Pacem stood on the podium where the twelve stormtrooper bodies lied, in hastily made marble coffins adorn with the flag of the Alignment. From here, he could only longingly look to where the citizens held their vigil, while hearing Bragg's icy speech. The surviving stormtroopers stood motionless, too terrified of earning their new captain's cold fury.

"Some of these soldiers were your friends," Bragg slated. "They are nothing now. Form bonds stronger than friendship; form them of blood, sweat, and loyalty to not each other, but your Empire. This… is your most important order."

"Put them into the ground."

Twelve living statues of white detached themselves from the two rows and went behind the coffins. Silently, save for the grunts of efforts, the coffins were put into their respective graves. Pacem watched with frustrated sadness; Bragg had done nothing to honor the fallen. He had heard rumors of even Vader showing respect to stormtroopers who had done well; the Captain showed no such respect. To him, they seemed to be only tools of instruction and fear for the others.

" _Fail, and your legacy will be one of failure."_

He slapped the side of his head, hard. _The memories won't stay away…_

As the stormtroopers shoved dirt over the coffins, he resigned himself to realizing perhaps they truly never would. Maybe he had been indoctrinated too far. Or he would end up just like Asinus, another dead man on the field, a faceless servant to the overarching Alingment-

 _That is not my legacy!_ His fists clenched. _My legacy is my son. And I_ will _find him._

Quietly, Pacem Folen slinked away from the funeral.

 **XXX**

 **Lysander "Cody" Folen**

 **XXX**

Quietly, Lysander entered the ceremony, that Thurst had dubbed being "Marked."

Whatever that meant. They had had only a few minutes between now and then to deduce the possible meanings, and none of them made his heart skip. Perhaps they would be tattooed, or maybe scarred with the long spears.

Maybe they were being marked for death, and Vynus was only toying with them. Storm clouds hung over them, thunder periodically booming. It had been a year since rain washed over Cindra. Lysander felt as if some sort of black magic were coursing over them, studying them, and he shivered. _We're going to get sacrificed or something!_

 _No, then they wouldn't have wasted supplies on Kennex and Gallis_ , he thought. He took a deep breath as they entered a clearing brimming with torchlight. _Just keep calm and-_

His thoughts came to a jarring halt as he saw what they were walking into. An enormous crater decimated any surrounding trees; several meters deep, the size of a typical frigate, all leading down to-

"Stars above," Cecilia whispered behind him. "Is that a-"

"Ship." Thurst shoved his way past her to clasp a grimy hand on Lysander's shoulder. "Mine, actually. Da' _Stabscar._ Fitting name, eh?"

Lysander had to agree once he'd come out of his shock. Compared to the size of the sinkhole, he ship was rather small. It was shaped very needle-like, pointing towards a single point like a needle. A crudely made ramp of tree bark led down to it; but the center of attention wasn't the ship itself.

"You have brought them," Vynus said gravely. "Thank you, Thurst. I will begin."

"Aye." He bent down and whispered in Lysander's ear. "Good luck, lad."

He didn't reply; Vynus had already beckoned them all forward. The five moved forward, Lysander casting worried glances as they descended into the sinkhole. A platform had been made out of several fallen trees; it looked quite literally as if the ground had simply opened up and swallowed whatever was on top. The sloping sides of the hole carried traces of broken tree, rock, and mashed grave. Several intact trees had made convenient seats for the entire Crist people. Lysander guessed perhaps a thousand stood around the edges of the sinkhole, or on those trees.

Their destination was not to stand. On a platform made of an enormous stone- _plastoid ore!_ He quickly realized- Vynus stopped and had them spread before him.

Gallis and Cecilia clung to either side of Magnus, standing tall and defiantly. Adelia stared straight ahead, infinitely calm; Lysander could not fathom how so. Then again, he'd never really been able to read that face-

" _Klissern sava cy klin_." Vynus's voice somehow boomed across the entire sinkhole. Lysander recoiled from the serpent-like speech of the Crist, but stayed in the same place. " _Nuro, chasti vore sinitu. Vasa, cree narasta prim suchoree, klissi pro klissern ni ta. "_

He looked down at Lysander. "You have come here," he said, more quietly. "In the place of unrest. Now, where nature first revolted, so we add you to it."

Lysander guped but remained straight faced. Vynus's spear suddenly seemed much taller and threatening.

The Crist Leader suddenly raised the spear and held it horizantally; long enough to reach Gallis at the far end and Lysander at the other. The point hovered right before his eyes, twinkling with a snowy light.

Vynus gave them each a glaring look with the light green eyes. "Grasp the staff with your dominant hand," he commanded.

Lysander hesitantly did so, as did the others. Cecilia and Gallis' trembled, causing the staff to shake slightly. But Magnus's iron grip solidified it for them both; Lysander gazed beseechingly at Vynus, who now raised his hands to the storm above.

"NARASTA CEENA!" he bellowed.

"NARASTA CEENA!" the others cried.

Lysander tensed, expecting to be cut down-

A thin vein of lighting descended and struck the stone, exploding it. Vynus was blasted out into the sinkhole with a wild cry, while the others scrambled to grab something as their platform disintegrated.

" _HELP!"_ Lysander swung out his hand without thought and grabbed Adelia's outstretched, flailing hand. The sudden weight made him groan as his body rolled onto what was left of the plastoid chunk. She swung perilously, but their grip was solid. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Cecilia and Gallis pull Magnus up as well.

The Crist were utterly silent, a daunting silence that stretched for ages. Even the storm was quiet.

With a furious roar born of years of physical training with Vash, Lysander pulled and managed to heave Adelia up high enough for her other arm to latch onto the crumbled rock. She clambered onto it, breathing hard.

The sounds of clunking debris striking the ship below caused only one remark to punctuate the silence. "Y'all better have the bloody credits to pay for those dents!"


	23. Ep 23: Marked for Death?

**Sorry guys, had midterms this week, hence why no chapter was posted last weekend. And when I went to check this chapter to see where it left off, I saw I'd someone cut off the rest of it. Basically, new ending for this chapter, new chapter next week, and the one after will be mid-season episode. Enjoy!**

 **XXX**

 **Magnus Iscander**

 **XXX**

 _What… just happened?_ He trembled all over, holding one half of the massive spear in his spare hand. _We should've died, but we didn't get shocked or anything._

 _And what's this feeling? Like I'm being watched._

Of course they were being watched; the Crist around them had yet to speak. They simply stared, as if they, too, could not believe what they'd seen. But it wasn't that sight; it felt like _he_ was being watched, not the others. No, one other-

Gallis seemed to be in the same state of mind; his eyes were wide and glazing, studying his hands as if expecting to see them burned away. He looked up at Magnus beseechingly, but the other only shrugged, trying to look confident.

"I feel… marked," he whispered, with no trace of humor. He stepped hesitantly forward. "What was that? How aren't we dead."

"I don't know-"

With the suddenness of an explosion, the Crist about them exploded into sound, what sounded like wailing and screeching. They looked around, the sensation not fading from Magnus's psyche. He quickly moved to the front of the path to what remained of their platform. "Stay behind me!" he warned.

Lysander pushed his way next to him, looking brave despite almost falling himself. "Don't do anything aggressive!" he murmured. "I think they're reacting to Vynus."

The Crist Leader- he'd utterly forgotten. He risked a look around. The storm ahead flashed lightning, illuminating the needle ship.

And the body crumpled against the hull.

Magnus shook his head. "I don't believe it," he said quietly, assuming he'd be drowned out by the cacophony about them.

"I haven't believed any of this since we first got captured," Adelia stated wryly. Magnus, however, could detect the same level of confusion he had in her voice. _That wasn't supposed to happen- whatever that was. It struck the staff we were all holding, it's a miracle we weren't killed. Wish the same could be said for Vynus._

Footsteps stalked down to them, and the screeches subsided. Magnus veered about, expecting to see Thurst swaggering his way down to them. Instead, however, a being a little taller than Magnus, draped in a brown cloak that skimmed along the gray stone path stood before him and Lysander. With the storm clouds above, he couldn't see what was beneath, be it human or Crist.

Or something else. Feeling apprehensive, he drew back.

"You should come with me," it said. "And your brother, too."

Magnus froze; he had never stated one of their group was his brother. Certainly, from the offset, they weren't that similar. He did not move, nor did Gallis behind him.

"What are you?" Lysander asked, his tone desperately defiant.

"Oi, yea, who in the 'ell do ya think ya are, Mista' Advisor!" Thurst marched furiously down to them, for the first time giving Magnus some relief. "Cantcha see kriffin' Vynus is outta 'ere!"

"He is injured, not 'outta 'ere,'" the hooded figure said calmly. It spoke with a male voice, sounding fairly human. However, Kennex did the same, and he wasn't close to being such. Magnus put a protective hand to his left, holding Gallis back.

"Injad?" Thurst exclaimed incredulously, his voice amplified in the silence. He sounded agitated beyond reason, making Magnus wince. "You kriffin' nerf herder, he jus' got blown off by a kriffin' lightning bolt! Dontcha give me that-"

"I softened his fall before he struck your precious ship, Thurst," the hooded man said a bit to dryly. "Take these children up to the camp, the Crist will follow when Vynus awakens. I will take the two brothers to my tree."

"No."

"No?"

"You aren't in charge, Mister Advisor, oh no."

"Don't."

Thurst laughed, then suddenly drew a blaster pistol and tried to shove it under the others chin. Magnus flinched forward, trying to snatch it away. The Crist snarled around them into a collective chorus of anger, but it was much too late. Red light blossomed before them-

Cecilia screamed, Magnus froze with his hand outstretched, mouth hanging open.

"Do as I say," the hooded man said. A white, human hand held the barrel of the blaster, pointing it skyward. Magnus felt disoriented; he hadn't even seen the hand move. Thurst looked less shocked, more disappointed. He wrenched the blaster from his grip and holstered. "Fine," Thurst growled, his tone sounding alien and hateful. He grabbed Lysander by the wrist, the hesitated. "Wait- wai', brotha?"

The hooded man gestured to Gallis, making Magnus tense again. However, he did no more than patiently gaze in their direction.

Thurst's face looked thoughtful, looking directly a Magnus, and he finally looked back. "What?"

"Brotha, eh? Interstin'. Well, resta' ya, ya 'erd 'im. Witha me, Vynus be up in a bitty, eh?"

The hooded man nodded. Cecilia tried to grab Magnus's hand, her skin freezing with fright, but he did not respond. Adelia eventually pulled her along, and the two girls trailed beyond Lysander as he followed Thurst up. It seemed all eyes of the Crist followed them out, back into the camp.

Leaving two brothers with a hooded man who stared them in the eye without even showing his own. Magus lifted his chin, and to his surprise the other chuckled. "No need to be defensive," he said. "You're safe."

"Says who?"

"Says me." The man took off the hood, revealing a youngish, black-bearded face with twinkling brown eyes. "Before introductions, though, I think I should help Vynus out. Resilient people, the Crist. You'd be surprised." He strode past the two, to the broken plastoid cliff, and outstretched his hand, hesitated a moment. "Well, sometimes; I _think_ he's alive."

The mood shifted, to one of solemnity. The Crist, to Magnus's shock, all kneeled.

Vynus's body lifted from the hull.

Gallis gave a nervous laugh. "How are you doing that? A hidden repulsorlift?"

"Not even close, friend." His voice was strained, and Magnus, somehow, knew the mood had shifted because of _him._

Whatever it was he was doing.

Vynus all but flew over to them, his great body limp. The man raised his other hand and caught him with a grunt. The Crist remained kneeling as he carried their leader back up out the sinkhole.

"What did you do?" Magnus demanded, feeling unbearably childish but nevertheless furiously curious. "Who are you?"

The other chuckled, and a chill ran through him. "Come and find out." He grabbed Gallis hand and squeezed it, and his brother did the same.

The man saw it and shook his head, almost sadly. "Come. And all will be revealed."

 **XXX**

 **Adelia**

 **XXX**

"Two-faced, krayt spit drinker." Thurst grumbled aloud for the fourth time, knocking his wooden chair against the back of the trunk while they waited for the Crist to return.

Adelia could hardly care what the pirate thought. She was terrified something was happening to Gallis and Magnus with that weird hooded man. It didn't matter that he was supposedly the one responsible for finding them, or that he had advised Vynus to keep them around when Thurst hadn't. They didn't know a _thing_ about him- or it, she wasn't even sure what species was beneath that blown cloak- but she did know one thing.

 _There's something off about the two of them._ Long had she kept her thoughts to herself on the matter, even away from Kennex. But the two brothers, the last to join their little pickpocketing gang, had always seemed _different._ And not in the personality sense. No, just… unexplainably _different._

She couldn't shake off Gallis' intuition of danger. She couldn't discern Magnus's ability to shoot a blaster from a moving speeder, his first time with one. Nor could Gallis have known the Crist were approaching, lying down and his face puffed. _Something… there was always something._

It was the same something she'd gotten from the hooded being. And now, the three were together.

What did it mean for the rest of them? She hated to think it, but maybe Gallis and Magnus had always been in on it with the being from the very start. Outcasts banded together; their own group was no exception.

There weren't may possibilities. What others there were offered very little hope.

For the third time, her shaking fingers wrapped around the handle of Kennex's blaster pistol. The one with no origin, not one he could tell anyway. It was cool to touch, an alien feel. She felt the need to use it, but couldn't bring herself to use it at the same time. She doubted Cecilia would want to handle it, wondered briefly if Lysander would before noticing the young man was speaking to Thurst.

"... been here long?"

"I'on kriffin know, ah few months? Kriffin' _sleemo_ dropped outta nowhere and won Vynus' support within da night. Cor, I 'ad to spent weeks trimmin' way at his bloody pride, I did." He muttered something that Adelia couldn't hear. "Turn 'im to stardust, I 'ould, oh you know it."

"Are our friends safe?"

Thurst snorted. "'Bout as safe with 'im as ya are with me."

"So pretty safe."

The pirate gave the lost chief's son a crooked smile, and Adelia distantly thought that his eyes changed color before reverting to normal. "Ya could say that, ya."

"What do you know about him?"

Adelia relaxed her grip on the blaster and tuned in more what was being said. Cecilia sat huddled on the floor, looking stricken; she would make sure to comfort the poor girl later. No doubt she hadn't been able to mentally keep up with all that had been going on.

Thurst rubbed his stubble. "Psh, otha' than he advises Vynus? Beats da 'ell outta me. He a crafty one though, I know, that much." In a blink he had his blaster pistol in his hand, making them all flinch. However, he gave no mind and istead eyed a shot a single mark in the thee. He mimed taking a shot, looked at in his hand, then shook his head in disgust. "Weird 'un, too," he muttered, holstering it once more.

Her own blaster fell guiltily back into place, and an almost revulsion overtook her. _These things are meant to kill. Did you really mean to go out there and shoot your way to them?_ A grim thought came over her. _I wonder if Kennex would've._

Whether Kennex was recovering or dying, they did not know. He remained in the Crist's healer tree, unmoving and occasionally being checked. They were told nothing; another twisted thought came to mind. _If he had been at that ceremony, would he have used the blaster?_ She had never wanted to think of Kennex as malicious or cruel, but…

"... he would've killed you," she said aloud, and immediately felt stricken as all eyes fell on her.

"What?" Lysander intoned, confused. Thurst leaned back, confused but seemingly letting the younger ones talk amongst themselves. He cast a bored look out the tree as she hazarded a reply.

"Nothing, nothing, I was just thinking aloud-"

"About Kennex?" Cecilia spoke with surprising strength, and Adelia looked around at her. The girl was staring at her with knowing, unexplainably watery eyes. _Has this really been that traumatic on her?_

Adelia gave a shrug, deciding to ask later. "No, it was just a passing thought-"

"I saw you looking where they put him." She dropped her voice, giving Thurst one quick glance before giving a deathly whisper, "You think Kennex would've killed Lysander, don't you?"

Lysander made a hoarse croak in the back of his throat, while Adelia blinked as she tried to backtrack. "Th-that's ridiculous! No, of course not-"

"Don't lie. I've been coming to terms with it, too." Cecilia looked from each of them. "We've all always seen it. Haven't we? Hating Lysander, doing things only the way he wants it." She licked her lips. "In the confusion at that big hole… I wouldn't be surprised if he would've pushed Lysander or something. Or just plain shot him."

Silence hung about them. Thurst, blessedly, seemed to be attracted to a commotion outside; perhaps the returning Crist. Adelia, for the moment, couldn't care less about them. "That's an insane accusation," she ground out, feeling sudden anger. "How could you accuse him of something like that, after he brought us together-"

"Together because he couldn't do those kind of jobs alone?" Cecilia shot back, holding her knees to her chest. The normally warm eyes were glassy, staring straight forward, lost behind the tangled and dirty blue hair. "No, he wanted more people to do the dirty work while he led. Or for us to take the blame, it's probably why he let Lysander be with us in the first place."

Lysander paled but said nothing. "You're speaking unreasonably," Adelia tried, but she didn't really know why she bothered. It had almost been word-for-word the scenario that had played out in her mind just now. She had never wanted to believe it, but once she had found the blaster all those weeks ago, hidden away from anyone knowledge but that of it's owner, it had sealed one thought into her mind about their catatonic leader.

Kennex did not care about them. He cared about himself.

And Cecilia had been the first to voice it, if with Adelia's non sequitur. "Why?" she finally asked. "Why now?"

The girl turned away from Adelia, to look at the frightened looking Lysander. "Because… as far as I'm concerned now," she murmured, her voice cracking. " _He's_ our new leader."

" _Me?"_ Lysander looked at each, expecting more, but Adelia merely nodded. " _Me?_ I'm no leader- I- no, Magnus surely-"

"Magnus is too impulsive and protective of Gallis to be a good leader for us all," Cecilia said impatiently. "He would agree, if he wasn't so stuck up his port hole. Plus, all those Imperial handbooks he's read probably makes him think he's secretly an admiral. Gallis would never take it, Adelia-"

"I couldn't," she quickly said. She could see why, now, Cecilia had chosen this moment. "We need someone who looks at all of us equally. You always have, Lysander. You're the son of Cindra's police chief, personally trained by its garrison commander." Her bulbous eyes blinked once, twice, trying to find the way to say it. "And you're the only one who's made any sort of connection or respect with them."

Lysander's eyes widened in sudden realization. "No- you saw him-"

"Whatever he's going to do to them, we can't let it happen," Cecilia said firmly, and finally the tears that had been threatening appearance gave way. "He's going to do something awful to them, I _know_ it!"

"He rescued us!"

"That was on Vynus, and he's gone! We know nothing about him. If we lost Magnus… or Gallis…"

It came with the force of a blaster bolt to the forehead, but she did no more than externally blink. _You're no better than Kennex,_ she thought with slight revulsion. _You love one of them, that's the only reason why you're bothering trying to bring Lysander up now. You don't care if he would be a good leader or not, you just know he can talk to the Crist and get one or both of them._

And poor Lysander was buying all of it. "You're right, both of you," he said, seemingly talking himself into it. "I have to try. Thurst!"

"Wha'? Cor, forgot ya'll we're back 'ere. Come on, less' get back ou' there, the Crist are back-"

"I need you to get us to the Advisor! We need to get Gallis and Magnus away from them!"

"Wha' the 'ell fo', kid?"

"Nevermind what for!" Lysander cried. "Look- what if we took him down? You could take control of the tribe! We try and get our family away from him, and if it doesn't work, you blast him from behind! No way he'll even see it coming!"

Thurst's face transitioned from skepticism to true consideration at the last thought. "Now there's an idea, Lysander," he said, rubbing a brownish/white hand across his chin. Adelia blinked, and it returned to white. "Neva' thought o' that… 'ight, ya'll grab the spitdrinker's attention, and I'll…" he mimed taking another blaster shot, making Adelia shiver but Cecilia quickly nodded. "Do what you have to do, Thurst."

The pirate gave a brisk nod and assumed full height, walking out the tree full of renewed purpose. Out the trunk, Adelia could see all the Crist returning, swamping back into their camp. Which meant-

"Come on guys," Lysander said, face screwed up into what she hoped was bravery or cunning. "Time to save our family."


	24. Ep 24: Of a Different Empire

**Hope you enjoy, this was my favorite episode to write thus far, and next one will be mid-season finale while I take a break for some tests. Leave a review or favorite if you're liking the story or got any input! Cheers!**

 **Chief Pacem Folen**

 **XXX**

The skies were darker still as he exited his office. The DT-29 was strapped to his side, as was four power packs. The streets were as silent as they had been this morning; all we're still mourning, tied together by their inexplicable losses.

 _I know loss, but I can still reverse it._

He shut the office door and felt for the speeder beacon in his pack. His old cadet compass was in there, as was the small virboblade given to him by Commandent Hux himself, when he'd proven top of his class on the shooting range.

He questioned why he had never thrown it away. Yet, even as he felt it, no haunting memories returned. Instead, only a recent one echoed around his skull. " _There were rumors of early attempts at a Academy on Arkanis…"_

Bragg wielded the massive blade; unlike anything Folen had ever seen. The need for swords and blades had died out millenia ago, though the legendary Jedi Knights had wielded blades of their own. But besides them, close quarters combat had all but faded with the introduction of the blaster.

Except for some places. Arkanis was no exception. Hux had given it to him, and his instructors taught him how to wield it.

And now here was a mysterious, chrome-plated Imperial-look alike using the same sort of weapon. Maybe he was jumping at shadows, but the coincidences were stacking up too many times. There was Commandant Hux's ideology written into Bragg; if the man had somehow survived the war, perhaps he had begun training a new generation of troopers in another dying remnant? But that didn't add up either; no dying remnant could export expert troops like Bragg to another.

Even if Hux hadn't survived, someone had taken his teachings. And if that was the case, then right now it told him only one thing.

" _I am on a journey, bringing five nerfs with me."_ The grip on the blade tightened; it was coming back to him after all. Except this time, he _saw_ it. Hux, fat but proud, cruel but calculative, pacing before the lined up Commandant's Cadet's, his most promising child recruits. " _During the trek, one of them breaks their legs and becomes slower than the rest. What am I to do with it?"_

 _One boy down the line raised his hand. "Sir, you ought to patch up the nerf so that it can-"_

" _No." Hux stares at the boy, and he shrinks into the line. The other children remain quiet. Hux looks at all of them and shakes his head. "No. You do not 'patch it up.' That nerf was weaker than the rest; it will be left to die. You remove what no longer has value. Now, as you climb a hill, one of the nerf's grow too tired and slows down from the rest. What do you do?"_

 _A dark-haired, pale girl raises her hand. "Sir, we ought to take breaks so that it may recover-"_

" _NO! Idiot girl, no." Hux swept past, his fists clenched and looking all at them in turn while Pacem shivered, refusing the urge to look down. "Have I taught you all nothing? You leave it behind. There is no place for a slow nerf that cannot keep up with the rest. There is no room for something prevents progress and success."_

" _Now, one final question. In the wilderness while you camp for the night, your prize nerf, in search of tastier food than your rations, wanders away from you and the others. What do you do?"_

 _Pacem raises his hand this time, determines, and Commandant Hux looks with an almost hungry expression. "Sir, the prize nerf is to be forgotten. It may have been the best one at first, but now it's grown weak. The last two have survived this far; they are the new prize nerfs and will breed strong nerfs like themselves."_

" _Yes._ Yes." _Hux gives a rare smile and points to him, and Pacem beams with pride. "Living proof that you are all the best. You have all been selected because your mistakes are few, adjustable- you have more strength than the others. The weak have no place among us. YOU all, the best of Arkanis Academy, are brought here before me. The rest of the students here? They may succeed, they may fail. But all of YOU?" He swept his hand across them all. "You have all been selected because nature has deemed you to succeed. You have skills that make you unique- though some must still be taught."_

 _Hux walks up to Pacem and hands him the vibroblade. It is cool and glows faintly in his hand, and he looks up with awe at the ginger-haired Commandant. "You will begin close quarters fighting," he declares before the whole class. "Pacem will have the head start of the vibroblade, and will rise above you all with his new skill. In time, the rest must adapt to counter. No matter how valuable, if you cannot adjust, you will be left behind."_

" _Dismissed."_

"Going somewhere, Chief Folen?"

Pacem whirled, barely released the vibroblade in time from within the pack. Bragg stood in the doorway, the sliding door left ajar. Thunder tore a vibrant white line behind the chrome, lighting him from behind.

The blade was still strapped to his back.

"Captain, I've been meaning to ask you a question," Pacem said as he stood, hands holding nothing. "A curiosity, if you don't mind."

Bragg didn't move. "Ask."

"Your weapon. What is it?"

"A weapon forged of quicksilver, a strong but rare metal. The blade is powered by a containment field, powering it to a substantial energy quantity."

"Why?"

"The field?"

"No, why do you use such a short range weapon? Surely shooting from afar is better than running up and slicking someone open. I mean, I assume it's more than just a hobby."

If Bragg heard the sarcasm, he ignored and continued in his metallic voice. "You have never seen me use it, and you question why I have it. The mentality of many who do not understand preparation for anything. A disease on a distant planet may mean nothing to you, but to the inhabitants who have lived there for years, they have bred the skill to resist. Unleashed upon you or I, we would succumb. In the same, should close quarters fighting erupt-"

The sword was snatched in Bragg's hand and the tip suddenly pointed in Pacem's direction, and he took an irresistible step back, almost falling over his bag. "I am prepared. I will not know the fear of uncertainty; I will emerge victorious."

"An interesting ideology," Pacem managed. _I have to know- one more test._ "But to your earlier question; yes, why the containment field?"

"Originally, we were equipped with vibroblades. But after an operation revealed the existence of quicksilver of which, even when at full strength, the vibroblade could not cut through. The weaker weapon was discarded; when our techs discovered how to funnel powerful energy currents through the quicksilver, they were amplified even further."

Pacem forced a smile. Perhaps he was not jumping at shadows after all. "Truly fascinating, Captain."

"You will now tell me why you appear ready for departure."

He shrugged. "I was about to come to you, actually," he lied. "I've appreciated your efforts to find my son, but I was about to get confirmation to take the police cruiser out to search for him myself. He is very precious to me."

To his surprise, Bragg nodded. "He has the capability of becoming a fine trooper," he said flatly. "As does the Magnus boy. I wish to find them all and bring them to justice, and bring the other two into training."

 _Not while I live will you bring my son into Hux's teaching._ "Justice for children?" he said instead. "So young?"

"They are older than you give credit for. Do not fall for the lure that because they remain slightly underage they do not understand what they were doing." Bragg finally put the quicksilver blade back onto his back, where it _click-clacked_ into place. "Rescue and justice. Coincidentally, the reason I came to you now."

"How so?"

"The main reason why I held two seperate funerals. To draw the unsuspecting into a state of false comfort. She is waiting for us now."

"She?"

Bragg dipped his head. "Their Sluissi cargo pilot friend, from the Legio Port. She came to the public funeral, and was mentioned in Vash's reports for being associated with the orphan group. We will discover what she knows of them and perhaps where they have fled."

"And then?"

The Captain turned to leave. "We remove what no longer has value."

 **XXX**

The Sluissi female was limp on a thick metal table, barely coming out of unconsciousness from several prods of electro staffs. She was dressed in her normal black jumpsuit, squeezed around her lithe body. Folen had seen the species once outside of Ommas's barren wastes; they were no more attractive to him now then than now.

But he felt a strong sense of pity as they locked her arms into the cuffs, putting her on the horizontal tray like a slab of meat. Vash had never used the interrogation room, or the table; seeing one used for the first time since Arkanis made his stomach twist.

One of the guarding stormtroopers hit a switch on the tray, and it tilted vertical. The Sluissi's head lolled as she tilted, dark black reptilian eyes unfocused as she awakened.

 _You shouldn't have done this_ , Folen thought sympathetically. He clutched the datapad Bragg had shoved in his hand, detailing footage of the Sluissi with the children time and time again. Taken from Vash's secured data banks of course; Folen was still adjusting to his friend having withheld such information from him. But in the back of his mind, the old command, drilled into his mind, burned: _Traitors can fill only one purpose: to betray their true allegiance._

 _We remove what no longer has value._

"Your presence is appreciated, Chief Folen," Prefect Bragg said into the silence, glove hands held loosely at his his sides. "Melding what remains of your police force and the military is key to a secure planetary garrison."

 _You could've just said between me and you._ "And thank you for the invitation. I always liked working with the army when Vash…"

Bragg approached the Sluissi without acknowledging Folen any further, and the police chief trailed off. While his blaster was nowhere in sight, the quicksilver weapon remained on his back, hanging there without any visible aid. Bragg stopped inches from the captive, and finally the Sluissi seemed to come to, and her lipless mouth curled. "So… it's true. The Empire lives."

"Where have the orphan criminals fled, creature."

 _Criminals? When were you going to tell me you'd put our arrests-_

"I'm a _Sluissi,_ of Sluis Van," she managed to scoff. "I thought you people claimed to be intelligent?"

Bragg did not even twitch. "You were seen with the orphan criminals dozens of times over the course of several years. In fact, your last encounter with them was recorded as giving wanted said criminals materials that were later identified as being used to help them break into South Tip Mine. These criminals now-

" _Children."_

"- evaded an arrest by Chief Folen and myself. They have escaped, and we lack resources to track them across the planet. You have been in their company the most; give us their most likely locations."

Folen could not tell whether he was a machine or man, and he had already seen what was beneath the mask. Everything seemed so… _stiff_ , unnatural, from his posture down to his speech.

The Sluissi laughed, a morbid hissing sound. "You care more about some missing children than the Crist attack that killed Cindra's citizens?"

"The children."

"Ha, they probably trekked as far as Iordu Peak-"

Bragg moved so fast that Folen thought someone else in chrome armor had entered the room. The Sluissi grunted with the blow, but the assault didn't end there. Bragg's fists connected again and again in a sudden, violent, but methodical beating. The stormtroopers stirred in distress; they were not the seasoned troopers of cruelty of the old days, after all. Folen watched, some disgust creeping into him. Certainly Vash had never gone this far before. Well, not that there had been a _need_ … but there should never have been a need for such a show. They had both agreed in the olden days to never stoop to such levels.

Just as suddenly as it started, the beating stopped. Bragg in clenched his fists and they returned to their hanging place. "Don't lie to me," he said simply, as if nothing had happened, though his arms were tensed with pumped adrenaline.

The Sluissi wheezed, a dark bruise starting to appear in the base of her throat. _He went for pressure points_ , Folen realized, and he stepped forward swiftly. "Captain, perhaps it would be wise I attempt-"

"I did not bring you here to play good cop bad cop, Chief Folen. I brought you here so you can see how to get proper results for your government." He held out a hand to the Sluissi's face. "Now tell me all locations where the children may have gone."

"What makes you think I'm lying?" she sneered.

"Sluissi eye slits thin when they are afraid. Yours remained large, a sign of aggression. You are lying to preserve their safety. You have one more chance to tell the truth, or…"

His right hand came up and grasped the hilt of the blade on his back. This time Folen could not restrain himself. He actually grabbed Bragg's shoulder and held on. "We can't find out the information if she's dead!"

The Sluissi seemed too stunned by the Captain's remarks to reply; Bragg remained equally still. The helmet turned to look at him from the side. "I will acquire victory for the Empire proper at any means or cost," he said flatly. "Whether she dies with the information or not only makes the process longer or not."

"You aren't Imperial," the Sluissi whispered, and they both turned to look at her. "You're… who are you? Where are you from?"

"Beyond." He unsheathed the blade fully; an extraordinarily long, silvery thing that still filled Folen with a bit of wonder. He took his arm off the chrome padding in hesitation, and Bragg held it before him like some sort of dark knight. "Speak or die."

The Sluissi's eyes became smaller noticeably. "They may have run for Blackroof Forest," she hissed, her entire body recoiling. "Lysander Folen… he always spoke of Vash showing him maps… his geography skills are unparalleled-"

"The natives have them." Bragg turned heel, one hand sheathing the sword and the other rising into the air and closing into the fist, causing the stormtroopers to almost gratefully fall in place behind him.

The Chief looked between the retreating forms and the shaken alien before chasing after the former.

"Captured them?" he said stupidly.

"Captured them, and now they have been aggravated against us. We will have to show them the error of their ways. Reinforcements will be necessary to repel them." They turned into the garrison's communications hub. The controllers snapped to attention from their slouching poses. "Contact Terrik Prime. We need an addition forty stormtroopers, and a number of flechette fixations for our AT-ST walkers.

Folen shook his head; the name was familiar, but not enough to remember. "Flechette fixations?"

"You will see soon enough, Chief. For now we must simply hold them back-"

"Did you bring me in there as a visual aid?" Folen said, his frustration spilling out slightly. "As a mockery of justice for the Sluissi? My _son_ is out there being held captive, and you have in no way assured me of his safety. You have sought to do things only by _your_ agenda-"

"My agenda is that of the Empire proper-"

"And yet you haven't even told me what that _means_?!"

Bragg looked at him through the blankness of the chrome helmet. "You are bothered by my treatment of the creature."

"You knew she was Sluissi. I wager you know a lot about her, and other alien species. Why do you call her a creature?"

"Because she is undeserving of any higher status," the Captain said emotionlessly. "They all are. Humans are the superior race biologically, mentally, and civilly. It is the natural way."

"It's not," Folen found himself saying, to his surprise. He could almost see the specter of Commandant Brendol Hux looming over him, speaking out of turn like that…

And somehow, the same feeling seemed to come over him with Bragg. "I have not only come here to replace Commander Vash, Chief Folen," the Captain said metallically, but with an icy backbone. "I have come to see that this planet, however backwater, is brought to the previous standards of the Empire. It is time for humans to know their place in the galaxy once more: at the top of the chain. It is best you start to think that way as well, so others may look to you with the same eyes they would their Supreme Leader."

Folen reddened, but still he fought. "Release her. Put her on planetary probation if you must, but release her. She will do no wrong again after that sort of treatment."

The other stared at him impassively, though the shoulders drooped slightly.. "I am dissapointed in your behavior, Chief Folen," Bragg said at last. "I thought perhaps you would be more encouraged by the methods and results demonstrated today. However, if it continues your cooperation with me, I will have it done. Now, let us begin organizing the defense of Cindra. Unil the flechette launchers arrive, we will remain on province-wide guard duty against further insurrection. Now, _dismissed._ "

There was nothing more or left to say, and Folen turned and exited the garrison HQ. _He treated me like some sort of child! Dismissing me to my room!_ He shook his head. _It's like he was trained in the same program I was, but he's far to young to have been…_

The Sluissi's fear and croaking words. " _You aren't Imperial."_

But Bragg was undeniably attached to Commandant Hux- or at least his teachings- in some way. It was just a question of: how?

 _No- who. Who's truly behind his coming here?_

The answers, he hoped, would come easier than they had from the beaten Sluissi.


	25. Ep 25: Discoveries

**Gallis Iscander**

 **XXX**

"YOU!"

Magnus threw a look at Gallis, then the unhooded man, then at Lysander. Gallis, for his part, felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. They were stopped before the great tree they had met Vynus at and where the man seemed to live, the tall Crist all around them

The unnamed man gave a sigh, then turned to Lysander fully, Vynus's enormous body still in his arms; Gallis wasn't quite sure the other was ally, but he thought he saw his chest moving. _Lysander, don't do anything stupid-_

"What is it?" the man asked loudly. The entire Crist population had stilled once more, observing the confrontation.

Lysander glanced behind him, and perhaps gaining reassurance from Adelia and Cecilia behind, straightened. "Wh-whatever you're going to do with Gallis and Magnus, don't even try! You just leave them alone!" He dropped his voice slightly and made eye contact with Gallis. "Guys, come on over here!"

For a moment he considered it, then Magnus budged his way forward. "No, what the hell! This guy- do you even know what he is? We don't, but he's not evil! He's help-"

"He's twisting you, Magnus!" Cecilia shouted. Gallis felt a pang of worry as he saw she was on the verge of tears. "Don't listen to anything he's told you!"

"Children, please!" the man said, exasperated. "I'm just trying to help your friends here, nothing more. I'm not gonna… uh… carve out their insides?" he added lamely, giving his best impression of a shrug.

His tone didn't help, but Gallis was sensing rising danger. He looked about, but the Crist were all remaining still. Magnus didn't seem to be detecting anything; he was shouting back at Lysander. "You didn't just see what he did! He's some sort of magician! And he has something to show us!"

The explanation was as poor as it felt. Lysander took a step forward, shaking his head. "No, he's tricking you!" he pleaded. "Magnus, Gallis, come on- a-are you really going to take his word over ours? We're your family-"

" _You_ aren't my family," Magnus scoffed. "Gallis is. And we both trust this guy. Just let him talk."

Both Lysander and Cecilia flushed, but Adelia pointed over at Gallis. "Do you really trust this man, Gallis? Or are you just letting Magnus choose for you?"

"I-"

"Look, I just want to show these kids what's going on," the man explained, holding his two hands up with the palms towards the Lysander and the others. Vynus's body trembled dangerously and he leaned to adjust. "Come on, you guys can join the talk now-"

"Gallis, what do you think?" Adelia insisted, orange eyes wide.

The danger sense was growing, but there was nothing around except the man with his hands before him, just as he had done to rise Vynus-

"Just come over here guys," Lysander pleaded.

"He's fine!" Magnus insisted.

"Magnus!" Cecilia cried.

" _Just listen!"_ shouted the man, dropping Vynus-

Gallis shoved the man away as a green light blossomed from behind and shot like a bolt of lightning through the dark space of the village. The blaster bolt shot between a started Lysander and frozen Cecilia to lodge itself into the tent they'd come from.

"Sithspawn!" the man spat out alongside a mouthful of dirt. "Wha-?"

Another green blaster bolt shot out from behind the great tree, the flash illuminating the leering face of Thurst. "Dance, magic man, dance!" he cackled. "Teach you to mess with me!" Gallis rolled away as one landed too close for comfort, but the rest thudded into the dirt about the man, who was dodging the blasts as best he could.

"Stop, stop!" Lysander shouted. "Enough, Thurst!" But the pirate either didn't hear or listen; he shot blast after blast, and finally one connected and burned a hole in the man's leg. He roared and this time Gallis' danger sense flared truly.

The blaster pistol blew up in the man's hand, the repulsion slamming him into the tree where the pirate collapsed, but was still conscious.

"Enough!" Lysander shouted again, but Thurst shook his head as he got back up. "Not when I'm this kriffing close, Cody!"

He drew a foot long knife of the same material as the Crist's weapons, then closed the gap. Gallis tried to get up, but Magnus put a halting hand on his shoulder. "Why?!" Gallis cried incredulously.

"I want to see what happens," his brother murmered, and Gallis shuddered as he looked back-

" _AGHHHH E CHU TA- AHHHHG!"_

The unnamed man was still on the ground, the wounded leg being held by one hand. But in the other, a blue bar of light was ignited from a metal hilt in his hand, waving threateningly about him. Thurst was kneeled on the ground right next time, his right arm tucked into his body. His whole form was curling about it, and Gallis couldn't understand what had happened until he saw the long knife on the ground-

Still clutched in his hand.

"Anyone else?" the man said furiously, looking at all of them in turn. "Thought so- now, someone help me up?"

Magnus's hold slackened, and Gallis ran over to the other and helped him up. Two Crist sauntered up to them, spears towering, and Gallis moved over so they could help with the man.

They strolled past to where Thurst lied, still hissing and spitting expletives in what sounded like many languages. They pulled him up by his jacket and he roared, trying to shake them off. However, they simply clutched him harder and dragged him before the man.

Who was still on the ground. "Uh, here," Gallis said awkwardly, leaning down so the man could wrap his arm around him. He turned off his strange weapon and allowed Gallis to pull him up; he was heavy, but he managed to pull him upright. The man said something in the Crist's natural tongue, and they hauled Thurst away.

"W-wait, _hey!"_ Thurst cried. "Let's talk about this-"

"I've had enough talking to you for today," the man grunted, then turned his back as the pirate was pulled away. Two more Crist approached, speaking quietly to the man. Gallis waited patiently, still supporting.

Lysander, Adelia, and Cecilia came up behind him, the former lending support on the other end. Adelia knelt down and from her side withdrew something from her side. "These will help take the pain away," she said hesitantly. "You… you are human, right?"

The man finished speaking to the Crist and they left their side. "Yes, I'm human," he muttered. "By the stars, am I going to lose my leg? Of all the things I was willing to give up coming here, this was not one of them."

"You won't," Adelia assured. "It's a big wound but it didn't burn past the muscle. You won't be able to walk on your own until it's healed, though."

"Thanks, that feels better. Won't help that you just tried to kill me, however."

Gallis threw the man a look, and got a look at him. The brown eyes were slanted to look down at Adelia. Blue, dashed lines similar to what the Crist and Thurst had dripped down to his chin, looking similar to artificial tear black beard was dirty from when Gallis had shoved him to the ground. However, it merely covered up how young he looked; Gallis wouldn't have guessed him over twenty-five.

At his words, Adelia backed up slowly, and Lysander's grip weakened. Cecilia clung to Magnus, as she had done as soon as Thurst had been herded away. His brother remained stock still, silently observing.

"You three conspired with Thurst to try and kill me," the man said flatly, wincing. "That's… not very good, honestly. Pretty shit."

"We-"

"But." The man held a finger up. "But. It was to save your friends from an unknown man, of unknown origin, of unknown… anything. I can appreciate that, and it tells me that the Force drew you here for good reason."

"What?" Magnus inquired, leaning forward. "The what?"

The man smiled. "First, maybe who I am." In Gallis and Lysander's grip, he seemed to straighten with pride, to stand over all of them. "My name is Joran Rus, a Jedi Knight in training to the reborn Jedi Order under the hero of the Rebellion Luke Skywalker, and while it wasn't why I chose to come here in the first place, I see now the Force has drawn me here because of the presence of Gallis and Magnus."

He looked about expectantly at all of them, but they all had blank and confused looks. "A Knight?" Adelia said carefully. "Like in armor from the children's tales?"

"Jedi?" Magnus scoffed, his shoulders drooping noticeably. "Oh, please. This has to be a joke. They're dead."

Gallis looked at his brother. "What are they?" He felt left out; Magnus had known what they were, but never told him? It didn't even begin to register with him.

His brother only had eyes for Joran, however. "You aren't a Jedi," he challenged.

"Well, while I'm kind of sad you guys don't know what it is," Joran said, sounding irritated. "I'm more surprised you're so skeptical. What do you know of the Jedi?"

"They were traitors to the Republic," Magnus said nonchalantly, shrugging Cecilia off him. "They attempted to kill then Chancellor Palpatine, forcing him to make the Empire. They used all sorts of magicks and parlor tricks to get what they wanted, and they were put down and hunted at the end of the Clone War for their crimes." He held a fist before him. "They still cropped up under the Empire, but they were all dealt with at the end."

Joran rubbed his chin. "Well, I'm no historian, but anyone with a few brain cells know the history the Empire put out is indecipherable in truth and reality, sooooo I can only say you were wrong on one account."

"Yeah? What one?"

"The Empire didn't wipe them all out. In fact, it can be said one Jedi wiped out the Empire." He smiled. "Luke Skywalker. My Master, and the one who's trained me to be a Knight in turn."

"And who I hope I can take you to so you can both join his Academy and train."

The silence engulfed them, and finally Lysander gave an awkward laugh. "Y-you're not serious, are you?"

Joran extended a hand towards Thurst's fallen blaster pistol, and it slithered to him as if being drawn by a rope. It lifted off the ground and to Lysander's free hand. He hesitated before grabbing it. "It feels normal," he said uneasily.

"That's because it _is_ normal," Joran replied, groaning. "I only used the Force to call it over. With it as my ally, I can do all sorts of things."

Magnus crossed his arms. "An Gallis and I can learn this, can we?"

Joran licked his lips. "In time, yes. But not anytime soon; I'm no Master, after all."

"Why not now?" Adelia asked. "Why only them?"

"The Crist aren't liking what the remains of the Empire are doing to their stones," Joran said, putting a leg forward and urging Lysander and Gallis to move with him. "They are stocked for war; they already ran a preliminary strike on the closest town. This place is about to become a hotzone."

"Thurst's ship!" Cecilia said, nearly pleading. "We can use it to get off-planet-"

"I did not come here to abandon these people," Joran said shortly. "Would you all do the same, after what they've done for you? Taken you in from your lost journey?"

As if to compliment this, Vynus stirred on the ground; Gallis had quite forgotten about them. _And I can't forget what he did for us, either._ "Okay, so what happens if we stay?" Gallis intoned. Magnus and Cecilia looked thunderstruck, but Joran gave him a warm smile.

"We fight for the Crist. And maybe, we can restore balance here. For now, however, I will speak to you and your brother. As I said, it's time for all to be revealed."

"And to see if this planet's future matches what I saw… or what Master Skywalker did."


	26. Ep 26: Unwanted Answers

**Hey guys, Borrum/Dunstin here. This is the midpoint for this second season, and thus I'll be taking a month-long break to plot out more of the series and take my finals for the year. Expect new episodes in mid-May. Until then, hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Leave a review or favorite or whatever if you're liking it.**

 **Good luck on all your tests and stuff, and see you in about a month!**

 **XXX**

 **Magnus Iscander**

Joran sat upon his small bed while they all gathered around him. With his face exposed and in the humble furnishings of the giant hollow tree, the others seemed less hesitant to listen to him now, although Cecilia remained annoyingly close.

"So," Joran said, working his hands in and out of each other. "Nice, ah-"

His hand went to the wound in his leg. "I'll feel this for a while," he groaned. "The Crist know their medicines, but they've never had to deal with blasters. Well… not till late, I suppose." He switched on a small glow lamp on the ground, causing them all to burn light green. It was the only sort of technology in there; everything else seemed of Crist design.

"Do you want to explain what that means?" Magnus said, crossing his arms. "Because I have a good idea of what it is."

"What are you talking about, Magnus?" Adelia pondered. He gave no reply but continued to stare at the man.

Joran narrowed his eyes, giving him the feeling of being dissected. He had been scrutinized by countless people before, but this felt… difference. As if some unseen eye was _looking_ at him.

"You have a lot of anger built up in you," Joran declared. "Not healthy at all, mate."

 _What did you just say to me?_ "What-?"

"-did I just say?" Joran said, a knowing smile creeping onto his face seemingly against his will, for he quickly tried to put it away. "Sorry- old habit. But- look, I didn't come here to make fun of you-"

"Just answer his question," Adelia said, crossing her own arms now. "I saw it all when Vynus took me with him to patch up Gallis. You have a lot of wounded for being in the middle of a forest where there's no sentient neighbor. What have you people been doing?"

The smile had turned to a frown. "Now look-"

"You're fighting them, aren't you? The Empire."

"The Empire is _dead_ ," Joran said stiffly, sitting on the bed but his presence causing Magnus to shiver despite himself. "The people who came before you and I destroyed it. What we have here is a dying enclave that still follows the traditions of the Empire; one of those continuing to create armor for people who can't aim, it seems."

Magnus's fists clenched and he took a threatening step forward. "Stop this."

"It's not me." He leaned down on the bed, unperturbed. "Thurst came before me and told Vynus what the Alignment was doing; why, I could never figure out, the man's never done anything decent far as I've seen. But the plastoid ore that the Alignment is digging up holds spiritual value to the Crist; it belongs to the rock they walk on, as do you. I have tried to convince Vynus to stop… but just like the Alignment to the Empire, some traditions are too strong to let go of."

Lysander seemed to be struggling to come to terms with it. "So what happened? The Crist attacked Cindra?"

"If that's the name of the nearest mining town, then yes. That's where you all came from, then?"

"Yes. We were… uh, framed, by the new military commander for crimes. They would've arrested and done who knows what to us."

Joran laughed. "I don't need to use the Force to see the lie in that. You ran from justice- why?" he jabbed a hand behind him, in the direction of the medicinal area. "Something to do with your unconscious friend?"

"He was our leader," Lysander explained, red in the cheeks. "I… I didn't need to do the crimes, but the rest of them are orphans, with no help whatsoever."

"We robbed stores for food," Magnus supplied.

"And credits for a way off Ommas," Cecilia added. Her clutch on his arm had lessened somewhat, but he hardly noticed it anymore.

"They're natives stuck in the past," he said dismissively. "You're clearly not taking a firm enough stance against Vynus; people are being hurt by these attacks, and not just your own."

"You sensed it?"

"No, I just know how incompetent the garrison is. What do you mean sensed it?"

Joran ran a hand through his hair, looking exasperated. "Look- this is all a bit sudden for one night. I can't tell you everything going on here all in one sitting. What you guys need to know is I'm not here to hurt you, the Crist, or even the Alignment. I came here to save lives and restore the balance on Ommas- that's all. Can you all understand that?"

There was a silence, then Lysander hesitantly nodded. "I believe you. I'm… sorry about your leg."

Joran waved it off. "Just be careful who you trust, alright? Well- trust me, I mean. But for now, I need to speak with the two brothers. Alone."

Cecilia's grip tightened, and this time he threw her off. "We're fine," he said shortly. "I need to hear this. And so does Gallis."

"But-"

"It's fine," Gallis said quickly, though in Magnus's mind he could tell his brother was uncomfortable being left alone, and maybe his older brother's behavior. He couldn't even explain to himself why he felt like this, but all he knew was that he _needed_ to know what Joran had to say.

The others slowly filed out, Lysander the last to leave. "We'll be in the hut right across the way. You guys… just meet us there soon, alright." With a last look to Joran who gave a simple nod of return, he exited.

Leaving the Iscanders alone.

"You both have some good friends," Joran said at last. "Makes me miss my own."

"They're our family," Gallis said quietly. He seemed small, out of place in this hollowed out tree with this man of power. Magnus decided he would take over from here.

"What happened on that plastoid cliff edge? The lightning.?"

The other rubbed his chin. "Honestly? No clue. A womp rat from Tatooine would know more. But," he said with a smile at Magnus's look of disbelief. "But, I have an idea. You ready?"

"Just say it."

"You both are Force-sensitive." He clapped his hands together and spread them like he was throwing out confetti. "Now, whatdya think of that, huh?"

"What?" Gallis asked blankly.

Joran's face fell. "Really? No moment of shock, realization? Maybe some distant memory awakening? Nothing?"

"What is the Force?" Magnus demanded. "I'm tired of hearing this word and not knowing. The old Imperial handbooks deemed it being used by Undesirable Number Ones: the Jedi, the warriors of the Old Republic. The Jedi were corrupt; I want nothing to do with him."

"If you believe everything out of a book made by the Imperial Military, I don't know why the Force chose someone as stupid as you to manifest in," Joran said with some disgust. "And really, books? Don't you kids have datapads?"

"Do we look rich to you," Magnus replied darkly. "Now tell us."

Gallis shook his head. "It's what let's me and Magnus know what the other thinks, isn't it? And what guided me when we were evading Bragg's forces?"

Finally, a happier look fell on the other's face. "It sure sounds like it. You both are untrained, completely unaware of your gifts. In times of great need, focus, and desperation, you've allowed low level uses of the Force to help you." He took a deep breath and took on a monotone, drawling speech. "'The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.'" He looked at them and shrugged. "The words of Obi-wan Kenobi, the Jedi Master who trained my current one."

But Magnus shook his head. "I want nothing to do with the Force. I don't care for anything the Jedi used-"

"The Force found a place in you, don't waste it," Joran warned it, looking at Gallis as well. "I didn't come here looking for Force-sensitives; stars know Master Skywalker has his hands full already. I thought I came here to help the Crist, but I now I know that I was drawn here by the Force- in both of you."

"So what does that mean for Gallis and I?" Magnus intoned.

He shrugged. "Hell if I know. My ship crashed, and Thurst's is beyond using without his help. The only way off his planet is through another starship- which I doubt anyone would give to wanted criminal kids or a Jedi."

"So you're a Jedi, then?" Gallis asked with wide eyes.

Joran nodded proudly, moving his cloak aside to show the weapon he'd used to take off Thurst's hand. "You bet. Fresh out of Luke Skywalker's Academy. Here's my, uh, 'badge.'"

"Luke Skywalker?" Magnus spat on the ground. "The man who killed a million lives aboard the Death Star? Who murdered Darth Vader and the Emperor Palpatine? I'm done here. Come on, Gallis."

He stalked out, but it took him a good few seconds to realize Gallis was not following. He turned around, cast in the darkness while his brother remained illuminated by the faint glow lamp along with Joran inside the trunk. "Come on, Gallis," he repeated.

"I want to hear what he has to say, Magnus," his brother said confidently. "I mean- we've had his hidden Force thing for years, and we never knew about now. Now here's someone who knows and can help us, take us to someone who knows everything! I think there is a reason why we got drawn out to the Blackroof Forest."

"Yeah, because Lysander knows geography like a _slazer_ cat knows how to use a blaster. News flash: it was an accident we even made it out this far. Finding this guy was an accident, too."

"Was it an accident that you managed to perfectly shoot at Captain Bragg without ever having used a blaster?" Joran looked at him innocently, but a faint mischievous smile on his face.

"Get the hell out of my head," Magnus said with quiet malice, making the other's smile fade once more. "You kriffing Jedi- don't get near me or my brother. Get over here, Gallis. _Now_."

Finally his brother listened, and left the warmth of the glow lamp. Joran tried to stand, but fell back to the bed. From within, he called, "You don't have to listen to me, but you _are_ stuck Crist will ask you to fight; think if you should. Is it your place to fight for bloodshed, or to keep peace and balance?

"Have you been fighting with them?" Gallis asked, making Magnus grab his arm and try and lead him away. _No more words of nonsense. No more kriffing nonsense from this Jedi._

"No," Joran called after as they left. "I'm here to keep the balance of the Force on this planet."

"And if fighting the Alignment is balance? Or fighting the Crist the way to keep the peace?"

Joran dipped his head in a uncommittable manner.

Magnus dragged his brother's turned face away from the Jedi.


End file.
